


Vagaries and Make-Believe

by weirdoughnut



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hate to Love, I love how theres a tag for lesbian catra, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, a character says gay rights at some point promise, as if she werent one already
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 53,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weirdoughnut/pseuds/weirdoughnut
Summary: "One-thousand for the date, take it or leave it!” On her end, Glimmer slammed something down.Catra grinned. “Hmph, sure.”“Wait, really?”“Yeah.” She hopped off her desk and stretched. “Really. I can stand an hour or two holding your hand and pretending to like it.”Rushed noises began to clamour through the speaker. “Finally! Yes! I'll text you everything after I've figured it out.”“Sure thing, sweetheart.""Ugh, don't start.""Sorry, babe. It comes with the package." Catra paused, frowning. "Hold on, how did you even get my number?”“Uh...” Catra’s question was met with a droning white noise as Glimmer hung up the call.“Touché, Sparkles,” she said to the “Call Ended” screen. She tossed her phone to the top bunk and clambered up the ladder, reassured by the fact that, at the end of the day, “I still win this one.”...Right?She’ll let the thousand speak for itself.✦🐾✦🐾✦va·gar·y (/ˈvāɡərē/)an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behaviour.make-be·lieve (/ˈmākbəˌlēv/)imitating something real; pretend.va·gar·ies and make-be·lieve (/ˈvāɡərēz (ə)n ˈmākbəˌlēv/)i'm gay and u can't stop me. :)





	1. “Hey, Sparkles.”

_“Ew.”_ Catra shuddered. Her arm jerked the phone away from her ear as if it were poison. “Why don’t you ask that crop-top guy you always drag around with you?”

Catra was in her dorm room, splayed out across her desk in a way that only Catra could be comfortable. Early evening sunshine shone through the translucent fabric of the curtains, painting the maddeningly white room with cool but yellowish tones. Catra absentmindedly held onto her ankle with her empty hand, bending her leg this way and that as a meagre ward from complete boredom.

 _“Ugh,_ I _did_ , Catra. He's going with Perfuma since my plus one, _'technically can't be someone who's already going'-_ stop laughing! Do you think you were my first choice for this?” Glimmer’s impatient tapping sounded from the phone, the annoyance in her voice communicating the frown on her face.

Catra pouted. “Aw, I wasn’t? Glitter, that just breaks my heart in two!”

A _thump_ came through the speaker, followed by a second, lengthier groan.

“Have you considered smacking your head a couple more times? If you get a concussion, you won’t have to go to the wedding at all!” Catra chuckled loud enough for Glimmer to hear. She ditched her indolent position to sit up with her back against the wall and one leg crossed underneath the other. “I’m sure they’ll let you do your lame social worker stuff in the ER.”

“I’m majoring in _sociology_. I’ve told you this _so many times._ Are you braindead?”

“I should be asking _you_ that, Sparkles.” Catra shoved her phone between her ear and her shoulder, leaving her hands free to pick at her nails. A grin crept onto her face when she heard Glimmer bristle at the nickname. “Watch out, your mom won’t be too happy to see a giant red spot on your forehead when you walk into the wedding _solo_.”

The other end went silent. She snickered and, despite still hearing ruffling from the other end, considered hanging up on Glimmer on account of thinking the conversation was over. Her thumb was hovering over the “End Call” button when-

“You’re… a _nightmare._ ”

Catra held back a laugh as she heard Glimmer exhale a tremulous breath. “Oh, please. Just call me a bad dream. My _mother_ was A Nightmare.”

“Okay, okay, Glimmer, just- come on,” Glimmer whispered. She cleared her throat and let out another strained sigh. “What if… I gave you something in return?”

“Something in-?” Catra snorted so loudly her body followed the motion. “Oh, my _God_. No _way._ Are you serious? Why do you-” She paused, slapping the desk out of pure laughter. “That’s golden. You’re _that_ desperate?”

Glimmer grumbled, “Yeah, you’re right. What’s some music major gonna do with, I don’t know, free gourmet food and a few hundred bucks for four or five hours of hanging around me?”

 _Already throwing down a couple hundred, huh?_ Catra bit her lip. She was certainly listening now, but she wouldn’t let Glimmer hear an ounce of interest in her voice as she said, “Exactly! It’s not like I’d be responsible with that money. You should know.”

“Wh-!”

“I’d just blow it all on ramen! You’d be better off giving that to Adora.”

 _“What?”_ Glimmer exclaimed in disbelief. “Are you for _real?”_

“Of _course_ I’m for real!” Catra idly twirled a Sharpie in her hand, putting her phone on speaker and setting it down on the desk. “Being an exchange student or whatever can get _pretty expensive_ , and I’m _sure_ your family won’t mind meeting your _‘date’_ for the first time through FaceTime, right?” She popped up the marker’s lid and wrote a single line on some scrap paper, drawing out a loud and ugly _screech_ from the dried Sharpie. “ _Psh,_ of course not!”

Catra revelled in hearing a strangled growl resonate from the other end of the call.

“Where’s a stress ball when you need one, huh, Sparkles?”

She quieted down again.

While Glimmer tried to compose herself, Catra decided to keep herself entertained by counting: _One angry Sparkles, two angry Sparkles, three angry Sparkles, four-_

Glimmer let out a breath. “Five-hundred dollars for a five-hour wedding and reception.” She sounded on the brink of exploding. “Are you taking it?”

“Mm, I dunno…” Catra tossed the marker into the air and caught it, then tossed it again. “How’s fifteen-hundred sound to you?”

 _“WHAT?”_ Catra cringed at the slight feedback and lowered her volume. _“I-”_

“You said the wedding’s in, what, like, two, three months? I mean, that’s a lot of time I’ll have to spend _getting to know you_ and _convincingly_ being your girlfriend around people-”

“It’s just. The party.” Glimmer pushed out the words through gritted teeth. Her voice raised an octave as she explained, “No one— _no one—_ will have to see us together outside of _that._ ”

“Oh, but didn’t you say Bow was going, too? And with Perfuma of all people! Oh, _goodness-_ ” Catra pouted and placed her cheek on her fist. “-those two are _terrible_ at disingenuity when you put them together. They’ll see us ‘dating’ for the first time at the wedding and, well, the question marks would be seen from a _mile_ away, I’m sure you know. I seem to recall—oh, don’t be offended that I bring this up… or do, I don’t care-”

Glimmer growled.

“-but remember when we were at a campfire last semester? _Ah,_ the memories. Mermista said something embarrassing about Sea Hawk and-” Catra huffed in mock sympathy, “-that just got Perfuma started on her gossip, then Bow had to go and say that _you,_ of all people-”

 _“Okay!_ I get it, _please_ stop talking.” Glimmer sighed, hesitating. “Seven-hundred.”

Catra scooted to the back of the desk and leaned against the wall. “Mm, a little weak for a rich kid.”

 _“Grr,_ eight?”

“Thirteen.”

 _“No!_ …Nine!”

“Hm.” Catra let three angry Sparkles pass by. “You’re still on an allowance from your parents, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, fine! One-thousand, take it or leave it!” On her end, Glimmer slammed something down.

“And all expenses towards the wedding paid off,” she added.

“Well, duh,” Glimmer said. Seeming to realize what she just admitted to, she sputtered, “W-wait-”

“Oh, that was already a part of the deal?” Catra cooed. “Lucky me. Maybe, then, an extra, let’s say… thirty? Per person I gotta convince-”

“Catra-”

 _“-at_ the wedding. You mentioned some overexcited aunt or something? Just people that I really gotta play it up for. See? I’m nice!”

Glimmer sighed. “Five. Trust me, there’s a lot of relatives, trade partners, and supporters there that spill it the minute something seems off. _I’m_ counting, though.”

Catra grinned. “Hmph, sure.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah.” She hopped off her desk and stretched. “Really.”

“Finally! _Yes!”_ Rushed noises began to clamour through the speaker. “Okay, we only have about two-and-a-half months to get _everything_ ready-”

Catra was halfway to biting the Sharpie in her hand when she stopped. _Wait, what?_

“-so it’s gonna be a tight schedule if we wanna spend the least amount of time with each other-”

“That’s… Heh, that’s funny…” Catra chuckled, for the first time letting uncertainty leak into her voice. Her smug mood did a full 180°. “You make it sound like there’s… _a lot_ to do.”

“What, you think I’d just tell you everything before you agreed?” Glimmer scoffed. “I’m no pro negotiator, but I _am_ a political major. Anyway, I’ll need to talk to Adora because her planning is _godlike_ -”

As she talked on, Catra couldn’t help but feel a little drained of colour. She can still back out, can’t she?

“-on our image, so we’ll probably have to get our outfits tailored-”

“Mhm.” Oh, _God._ If she backed out now, Sparkles wouldn’t necessarily win, but neither would Catra. It’s not as if balancing school and this was a problem, but… three months of learning things she’ll never need to remember again _and_ having to spend more than five seconds getting along with _that_ girl? There were hundreds of better ways to spend her time.

“-and then there’s proper dining etiquette: which fork is for which meal and how to cover your food in chocolate from the fountain-”

…Well, if it wasn’t the money that was enough to encourage her to commit, then maybe—just _maybe—_ the food was.

“-photos because they _will_ ask to see-”

“So, Glitter-” Catra began.

_“Glimmer.”_

“‘Glitter’s my pet name for you—you know, since we’re dating and all now.” 

_“Not_ an excuse,” Glimmer groaned. 

“Sorry, babe. It comes with the package.”

Ignoring Catra’s remark, she demanded, “What is it?”

Catra grinned. The sword she hung over Sparkles’s head was almost as good as the money. “You’ve got a lot on your plate right now, so how about you just text me the schedule after you figure it out with Adora? She’s memorized mine so you’ll literally have no reason to text me apart from that.

“...Hold on, how did you even get my number?”

“Good idea.”

“Spark-”

“Oh-” Glimmer began creating static noises to the phone. “We’re- _crshks-_ cutting o- _carkshk-_! See you!” Catra’s question was met with a droning white noise as Glimmer hung up the call.

“Ooh, touché,” she said to the “Call Ended” screen. She tossed her phone to the top bunk and clambered up the ladder, reassured by the fact that, at the end of the day, “I still win this one.”

...Right?

She’ll let the thousand speak for itself.

She fell back onto the bed, one leg dangling off the edge. Rewarding herself for a good Tuesday’s not-work, she tensed her muscles in a stretch accompanied by a howling yawn and sunk into her cheap dorm mattress. The springs hardly shifted even underneath all of her movement.

Holding her phone up at arm’s length, Catra opened up her messages.

**adora the explorer**

**Today** 5:48PM

hey when u make the schdule can u tell her all my mornings are full

????

Catra what?

i cant look or talk to her bfore 10am thnks

Who’s her??

??

Catra???

Your read receipts are on stpo leaving me on read

**Today** 6:13PM

YUO ACCPETED QOOAXMCQWO21

I’M 💀!!! 💀!!!!

ur still rly bad at txting

razz sounds less like a boomer then u do

$1000?!!??! OMG

I CAN HARDLY BREATHE

then dont ig

whats so funny

I can’t believe you’d fake date Glimmer of all people

And just because she said she’d pay you

That’s so 😂

somebodys gotta pay the bills n ur too busy overachieving so

can u tell her to like pay me weekly or smth

stop using emojis like tht

You tell her yourself

Or split your share with me 😈😈

nah

😾😾😾

💪👱♀️

I thought you said emojis are ugly

Catra

☹️

_Read 6:36PM_

Her stomach growled, reminding Catra that all she had for lunch was a half-eaten burger. Unfortunately for Adora, her hunger won over, and she left her on read again—not that she wouldn’t have, anyway. Lazily, she leaped off the top bunk and threw on a sweater and sandals, then grabbed her bike from the wall. Knowing the consequences of leaving her and Adora’s dorm room unlocked would be much greater than those of ignoring Adora’s texts, she jiggled the doorknob twice before making her way to the marketplace.

 _They’d be there by now,_ Catra thought, picturing Scorpia and Entrapta hovering over the kiosk with tiny food near the west wing entrance. The cool evening air ran past her, weaving in and out of her hair and brushing her skin as she navigated the bicycle lane. Her phone buzzed, though she didn’t bother checking it—it’d just be her nightly notification from Scorpia reminding her that they were sitting in the same spot as last time and the day before that (and the one before that, too). Instead, she let herself relax in the music as buildings, trees, and people blurred by. A buzz came from her pocket once or twice more, but it didn’t bother her. Not much did in times like these—not even the drivers who honked too much when it was clearly _their_ fault they almost hit her.

 _“Watch it!”_ The driver stuck a finger out of their window.

“You first, _drunk-ass!”_ she screeched back. Oh, the tranquilities of campus life.

Irritatingly, her music stopped just as Catra was about to imitate the guitar solo. Propping herself on one leg, she pulled out her phone and saw Glimmer’s number light up the screen. It seemed important, seeing as apparently half of the notifications from her phone were from the same caller. As Glimmer’s “girlfriend”, it would probably be in Catra’s best interest to answer it.

...Yeah, right. She shrugged, declining the call. She’d rather have sixteenth notes shredding in her ear than Glimmer’s whining. Almost immediately though, another call came through. Groaning, Catra leaned her bike against a streetlamp and hit answer.

“Hey, Sparkles.”


	2. "My favourite girl's favourite girl."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five cheers for each day until season three!
> 
> Happy reading!

“Hey, Sparkles.” Catra’s provocative voice oozed through the call, causing a frown to form on Glimmer’s face.

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” she demanded. After Catra _finally_ picked up, her irritation dulled enough to let her lay back on her hammock and gently swing.

“Sorry,” Catra said, obviously anything but. “Iommi was doing his thing and, unlike _some_ of us here, _I_ have respect for the man.”

Her scowl deepened with confusion. “What? No, whatever. This is important, Catra.”

“Oh, really? I couldn’t te-”

Glimmer winced as a car horn painfully blared from the other end, making her instinctively pull out an earphone. Her mouth fell open in shock as she heard the string of curses leaving via Catra.

“I was on the damn _sidewalk!_ What the hell!” she shrieked.

Eyes wide, Glimmer asked, “What happened?”

Catra blew a raspberry. “Some ass who can’t drive. What were you saying?”

“Oh, uh…” Glimmer tugged on her train of thought, pulling herself away from how easily Catra shrugged the incident off. “My mom wants to talk to you.”

“What?” Catra stifled a laugh. “You already told her?”

“I… might have told her before I even asked you, actually?” she said awkwardly, scratching her cheek.

“Okay, that was stupid, even for you.” She sounded almost impressed.

“Hey, I didn’t tell her anyone’s name!” she said, crossing her arms. “I just told her I had a date to the wedding so she’d leave me alone. Now she’s following me up on that and asking to meet the lucky girl.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m _real_ lucky,” Catra deadpanned.

“Uh-huh. I know.” She pinched her nose. If she was going to spend more time with this girl, Glimmer would have to get used to her attitude. “She’s available to-”

“Uh, hold on, Sparkles-”

_Ignore it, Glimmer. Ignore it._

“-it’s starting to rain out here. Give me a second.” Glimmer heard movement, as well as the muffled pitter-patter of rain. Then, she heard the sound of tires rapidly maneuvering the concrete sidewalks and the gears of a bike moving at a high speed. Soon, Catra was breathing heavily.

Glimmer sighed, humming to herself as she waited for Catra to escape the storm. Realizing she’d be a victim outside, too, she quickly stood from her hammock and walked into her apartment, locking the balcony doors behind her. She threw herself on one of the couches and watched the rainfall find its way to her area, occasionally stopping to laugh at Catra’s clear distress about the weather. In return, Catra found the breath to muster a halfhearted remark (which, to Glimmer’s relief, quickly met its end after the first boom of thunder).

“Having fun?” Glimmer teased.

 _“Shut up,”_ Catra warned through gritted teeth.

Glimmer snickered, then returned to her humming. Sometime later, she thought she heard a steady pounding outside, but decided it was just more distant thunder. But, as the booming began to beat louder, she pulled out an earbud and propped herself up on an elbow. It was coming from... there! The hallway past the door! She glared suspiciously, unsure if she should stand and-

“GUESS WHO’S BACK AND BROUGHT SOME _COOKIES!”_ Bow opened the door with a flourish, putting on his best game show host voice. Glimmer grinned as she saw Bow, in all his glory, holding up a green-and-pink pastry box as if it were Simba.

“Oh, my God!” She sat up excitedly, marvelling in the smell of fresh-baked goods wafting closer as Bow plopped himself beside her.

“Baker… an’ her crew… _really_ outdid themshelves today,” Bow said proudly, shoving a mini dark choco-nut cookie into his mouth despite his breathlessness.

“Sweet!” she said, taking in the delicious scents. With the box in her lap now, she was torn between the maple oatmeal and fudge-filled bites. And there’s one with peanut butter and chocolate chips in it, too, oh, and not to mention the ones coated with glaze! This was almost becoming overwhelming.

Satisfied with Glimmer’s reaction, Bow got up and popped open one of Soda Pop’s specialties. He caught his breath before saying, “They were almost out of mini anything when I got there. Entrapta must have some sort of monopoly on their food or something.” He giggled. “I barely even saw her under all of the boxes.”

“Oh, was Scorpia not there with her?” Glimmer closely inspected the sprinkles on of the pastries before popping it into her mouth. _Ah,_ that hit the spot.

Bow grinned, laughing. “I barely saw _her,_ either! Like, seriously! Do you know how many boxes it takes to cover up someone as big as her? I was scared she’d run into me!”

Glimmer laughed along before a tired voice panted, “Okay, okay, jeez. You can stop laughing any day now.”

“What?” Glimmer said, humour still playing off her tongue. “I wasn’t laughing at you. Not anymore, at least.”

Bow’s eyebrows shot up, covering his mouth in embarrassment. _“Who’s that? I’m sorry!”_ he mouthed, lowering his hand.

 _“It’s fine. Just wait,”_ she mouthed back.

“I know—I can hear you drooling over tiny food. I just want you to stop laughing.”

The frown on Glimmer’s face over her comment dissipated as lightning startled Catra once more.

 _“Shit!_ I hate this place!”

“Oh, really? I couldn’t tell,” Glimmer said, reiterating Catra’s earlier words.

“Shut up! Why are you even calling me again?” Distant chattering noises talked in the background. Wherever she found haven, it was noisy enough to make Glimmer raise the volume.

“‘Cause you decided breathing into your mic was better than hanging up.” _Take that, Catra._

“Psh. Why’d you keep the call going?”

She took the challenge. “What if you didn’t actually call me back?”

“Mm, fair.” To Glimmer’s relieved disappointment, Catra didn’t sound interested in biting back. She could only guess that the water in her hair bothered her more than Glimmer right now.

“I called because my- uh.” Glimmer’s eyes shifted to Bow who was patiently seated at the kitchen island. His curious eyes stared back at her, head tilted innocently.

_“Okay?”_

_“Yeah.”_ She nodded, holding up the box for his taking. _“Cookie?”_

He smiled and licked his lips, accepting her weak distraction.

Glimmer steeled herself. Once he was sat back at the table, she turned her head to her mic and whispered, “My mom wants to meet you at the cafe near her office tomorrow _or_ her office on her lunch break.”

 _“WHAT?_ WHO IS THAT?” Bow shouted, bringing his palms down on the table.

 _“NOBODY!”_ Glimmer yelled back, her nerves making her match his energy. “IT’S NOBODY, IT’S OKAY!”

“GLIMMER, THAT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE NOBODY! WHO _IS_ THAT!” Bow grinned from ear to ear, his eyes shining with unshed tears of joy.

Catra stopped mid-complaint about the noise to cackle just as loudly. “Holy shit! Jesus Christ, this is golden.”

“HA… HEH- Uhm-!” 

“Oh, c’mon, babe! Don’t you wanna tell your bestie about us?”

“Shut up,” she growled at her mic. Avoiding Bow’s eyes, she said to him, “It’s a girl… that I, um…”

He held his palms together at his lips, put-together but grinning wildly. “Do I know them?” he asked under his breath. She didn’t have to look at him to hear the smile on his face.

“Who _don’t_ you know?” Glimmer swallowed. “Yeah, you know her…”

On the other end, Catra was silent as she waited for the punchline.

“And… I’m da- heh-hey. You know her! You definitely know her. And, um, it’ll _blow your mind_. To find out who she is.”

“This hurts,” Catra commented.

“Hey, um, _babe?”_

Bow barely contained his joy at Glimmer’s pet name; Glimmer barely contained her lunch.

“Yes, babe?” Catra replied coyly. “Is there something wrong?”

“Can I call you back?” She made it sound more like a command than a question.

“Aw, and let me miss you introducing _us_ to Bow?” Her cockiness was overflowing. “How could I _ever_ let you do that?”

Glimmer kept her groan to herself, but grit her teeth. _“Catra-”_ Quickly stopping herself, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

 _“Catra?”_ Bow exclaimed, disbelieved.

"Catra," Catra confirmed in Glimmer's ear, her devil horns apparent in her voice.

“It’s not what you think-”

“Let me talk to him,” Catra suggested.

 _“What?”_ Glimmer scowled. “N-”

“Can I talk to her?” Bow asked.

 _“What!”_ She stared uncomprehendingly at him. “Are you serious?”

He smiled kindly, nodding. “I’m serious! I’ve seen you two hanging out together, but I’d never thought you’d get along _this_ well.”

“Really.” She eyed him dubiously.

Catra stifled a laugh. “He thinks we get along at all?”

Bow shrugged, eyes thoughtful. “I just wanna get to know Catra as not just Catra, but as my favourite girl’s favourite girl.” He touched his fingertips together, bashful but sanguine. “Is that too much to ask?”

Glimmer felt _so bad._ She pushed down a rising memory from a few years ago, already having enough guilt to down in. Did she really believe she could lie to him like this? Bow, who’s put his all into supporting her in every corner of her life, even now in the most unanticipated situation that she’s thrown at him—how is she supposed to sleep at night? Even if she could somehow keep up this romantic facade—which, to be fair, she already wasn’t doing a good job of—how could she trust Catra to do the same?

“Um…” Glimmer sighed, out of words to say. If she could meet his eyes five minutes ago, she was far from that now. “Well…”

“Sparkles.”

Catra’s unpredictably tame, almost thoughtful, inflection caught Glimmer’s attention. She blinked. “What is it?”

“Let me talk to the guy. You sound stupid.”

And there went most of Glimmer’s shock.

Still, something about Catra’s tone persuaded her to unplug her earphones and put her on speaker. “Okay, but… don’t be weird.”

“Please, sweetheart, you did all of the weird stuff for me.”

Bow’s face lit up at the sound of Catra’s voice. She didn’t know if the caring look he gave Glimmer made her feel less or more remorseful about lying to him. “Catra?”

“‘Sup, Bow?” Catra sounded friendly, but Glimmer had her thumb over her phone anyway, ready to hang up the minute she said something off. “You liking the cookies?”

Bow beamed. “Absolutely! We grab some every Tuesday, actually. If there’s stock, I mean,” he joked.

“‘If there’s stock’? You mean Entrapta’s buying off the whole stand again?”

“Well…” He stared beyond Glimmer through the window, contemplative. “Not the _whole_ stand.”

 _“Yeesh,_ sorry about that. She gets overexcited about Tiny Tuesdays. I’ll tell her to save a box or two for you from here on out.”

“You’d… do that?” Bow asked, sharing Glimmer’s astonishment that Catra could be so approachable. She and Bow didn’t talk too often, but Glimmer’s aware that most of their interactions consisted of having to stop Glimmer from planting a fist in Catra’s face.

Catra snorted. “Of course! Anything for my favourite girl’s favourite guy.”

Bow covering his mouth did little to mute the beaming smile on his face. “Glimmer, I’m gonna cry.”

Glimmer shifted away from the edge of the couch, pressing her back against the cushions. Bow’s delight in her made her cheeks flush—it didn’t help that Catra quoted his cheesiness and how she couldn’t argue with her in front of him. She picked at a worn spot on the couch, weakly covering her embarrassed cringing as she held her phone out to him. He gladly took it, patting her head before sitting across from her.

“Over a box of small cookies? Please don’t.” In place of sarcasm, Catra’s amiable humour filled the room. Glimmer wasn’t sure how uncomfortable she was supposed to feel.

“Okay, you convinced me. Now,” Bow said, getting serious, “how long have you two been together?”

 _Play it cool, play it cool,_ she begged both Catra and herself.

...Mostly herself.

“Not too long,” Catra responded nonchalantly. “Maybe… mm, when was the last time she insulted me?”

Bow cocked his head and gazed absentmindedly, a sure sign that he was putting on his thinking cap. “To me? This morning.”

For the first time, Glimmer heard Catra let out a genuine laugh. She pulled her blanket down slightly, surprised at the way it rang through the phone. She hated how carefree Catra sounded and how _not-_ carefree Glimmer felt.

“That's strange! The last time I insulted her was right where she could hear because I’m a better girlfriend than that.”

Glimmer wished she had something witty and un-weird to say—damn, is "un-weird" weird? Unfortunately, she felt more than tongue-tied hearing them talking to one another the way they were, so instead, she settled for, “About two weeks, now.”

“Two weeks,” he echoed. He put a hand on his knee, the other still holding her phone. “You managed to keep this from me for two weeks? What else are you hiding, Glimmer?”

He said it in his usual affectionate tone, but Glimmer couldn’t help but swell with guilt. She shut her mouth and attempted a convincing smile in response.

“Eh, I wouldn’t say she was hiding too much.” Catra kept up the conversation. “We haven’t even gone on a date yet.”

 _“Seriously?_ Even after two weeks?” Bow raised an eyebrow at Glimmer. She shrugged sheepishly, relaxing enough to meet his eyes—even if only for a split second.

“I know right? We’ve just been busy lately, is all. What, with classes and the wedding and stuff.”

He sat forward abruptly. “The wedding! Are you coming as her plus one?”

“Oh, you know it, Bow!” She returned his enthusiasm, making the corners of Glimmer’s mouth pull up. At least she was being nice to him.

Her eyes narrowed. A little _too_ nice. What’s going on?

“We’ve been packed with preparations for that, too, but our schedules just haven’t been lining up.” She sounded wistful as she said, “There aren’t even any _etiquette_ lessons we can call a date yet. You hear how crazy that sounds?”

“Oh, boy, I _hear_ how crazy that sounds,” he agreed. “No spare time at all?”

“Hardly. We’re getting Adora’s help in organizing us for the wedding, though.”

Bow’s face twisted in theatric indignation. “You told Adora before telling me?” he asked Glimmer. “How long has she known?”

“Not long! Not long, I promise!” Glimmer waved her palms in the air. “We literally told her like, an hour ago! Less than! I was just waiting for you to get home!”

Though his delight never really diminished, it all crashed down on Glimmer in a crushing teddy-bear hug. “I’m so happy for you!” he sobbed. “Thank you for telling me. This is _huge_.”

She hugged him back, grinning despite herself. “Thanks for being so supportive, Bow. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Out of the few truths he was given in this conversation, she was glad that this was one of them. “Are you okay?”

“More than that,” he said, though sobbing in contradiction. He held her at arm’s length, eyes dazzlingly joyful. “You’re in _love_ , Glimmer!”

“Okay, that-” Glimmer choked, rubbing at her face and waving a hand in the air. “That’s enough. That’s _so_ sappy and we’re not gonna go there right now, okay? Thank you, ugh. No.”

“Aww, you embarrassed, Sparkles?” Catra teased.

Glimmer picked up her phone and held it between her and Bow. She frowned and pressed her lips tight, shaking her head. She didn’t trust her voice not to break under the pressure.

“She said no,” Bow translated, wiping a tear from his cheek.

Catra hummed amusedly. “Well, Bow, I hope this chat was good enough for now. I gotta go grab some dinner.”

“Oh, of course! I hope I didn’t keep you?”

“Don’t worry about it. It was a pleasure. And, hey, she’s in good hands, so don’t worry about her.”

Bow smiled. “I won’t. Thanks, Catra.”

“Peace. Also, babe? Can you fund me weekly? Thanks.” And just like that, the room was silent.

Bow cocked a brow. “Fund her weekly?”

“O-oh, I’m, uh…" She silently cursed Catra for cruelly leaving her to deal with that question. "I’m helping her with rent, now that Adora’s off travelling for the semester.” She paused. “Because I’m dating her. And I wanna support her. Because we’re dating.” She looked away, forcing herself to zone off elsewhere.

“Awh…” Bow folded his hands in his lap, taking her in like a charmed brother.

 _What just happened?_ Glimmer marvelled. _How the hell did Catra pull that off?_ She was snapped out of her thoughts when Bow clicked his tongue, looking up to see a cheeky grin.

“So…” He began.

She tried holding his gaze but quickly backed out, deciding to watch a raindrop on the window instead. The storm had calmed drastically during their talk, the thunder hardly an echo in the sky. “So…”

“You and Catra, huh?” he said, trying to coerce information out of her.

She pursed her lips and pressed her forehead onto the cool glass. “I’m tired, Bow,” she dodged.

He followed her head, doing the same with his temples. “Long day?” He gently touched her arm. “You don’t have to tell me everything all at once.”

“I feel a ‘but’ coming along.” Glimmer turned her head to the side and smirked.

 _“But,”_ he delivered, “is it okay if I ask _why_ you kept it from me? Normally, you’d jump at me the minute you score a date with someone you like. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know you liked her!”

“Well…” She scratched her neck awkwardly, racking her brain for something believable. “She’s… not exactly a… _conventional_ crush. I just didn’t know how to deal with it, is all.”

“How did you end up together?” He bounced on the couch like a middle school girl the night before showing up to her favourite band’s concert. “Did you know if it was mutual or did you just…” He gasped, eyes widening in astonishment. “…go for it?”

She hesitated, grimacing. “Not today.”

Bow’s face fell into an exaggerated pout. “No juicy details?”

“Some other time, you dork,” she quipped, punching him lightly. “I really _am_ tired today. A debate sparked up in class and you know how I just fall for it each time.”

His brow furrowed in concern. “Ah. Did you kick their butts at least?”

“Every last one of them!” She held her fists up in front of her face, making a few jabs at the air. “They didn’t know what hit ‘em!”

Bow played along, moving his head to feign taking Glimmer’s hits. “Aw, and Glimmer takes the prize!” he laughed. “I’ll leave you alone now, though. Plus, I gotta clean up. The rain caught up to me outside-” He stood from his seat, squeezing dampened parts on his once-light-yellow crop top. “-and you should get some rest for your sort-of date with Catra tomorrow. Awh, I still can’t believe it!”

“Me, neither.” _Seriously._ She poked his belly, trying to persuade him to leave _before_ she broke down.

He folded, covering his stomach with fear in his eyes. “Oh, shoot! Okay, okay, I’m going, _ah!”_ A couple of minutes had passed before a few doors opened and shut down the hallway behind her. Bowe called, “Goodnight! Don't sleep on the couch! I'll wake you up with food in your face if you do!” from the bathroom door, then shut it closed.

“Night,” she said weakly, still queasy from what happened in the last two hours. For her sake, she hoped she could actively commit to this. She took Bow's advice and dragged herself to her room, burrito-ing herself into her bed to prepare herself for another text.

**Catra**

**Today** 7:14PM

Do you have etransfer?


	3. "Oh, now we’re talkin’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took all that i had in me not to make “Feminism! Gay rights! Down with ableism!" this chapter's title
> 
> thanks for waiting!

**7804541197**

**Today** 6:48PM

We need to meet at the cafe near the eternia building tomorrow at 12ish

Or inside the building

My mom wants to meet you

???? hello

God i hate you

**Today** 7:14PM

Do you have etransfer?

whos this

GliMMer

Save my fuckinh number

idk anybody called save my fuckinh number sory

also my name isnt gliMMer i think u have the wrogn person

_Read 7:29PM_

_“Ouch,”_ Catra muttered humorously.

Scopira’s eyes flicked to her. “Wildcat! You okay?”

Catra glanced up and saw Scorpia holding a sandwich to her mouth, a worried look scrawled on her face. Around them, students, staff, and visitors milled about the decently-packed food hall. Some took dinner to-go while others were merely passing from one building to another, though most were socializing, the numerous conversations melding into white noise. On the other side of their table, Catra could only assume what Entrapta was up to behind all of her pastry boxes.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Just got left on read by my girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Scopia nodded wisely. “Okay.” She stared blankly at her sandwich, clearly aware of something she was meant to comprehend but unsure of what that something was.

Entrapta pulled out a pastel purple box from her wall of pastries to make a hole to see through. Her mouth coated with multicoloured icing, she stated with an acute tone, “I didn’t know you were capable of dating, Catra!”

Catra scowled, her mouth twisting indignantly, though Entrapta only smiled innocently. Before Catra could defend herself, Scorpia jumped in her seat, directing their attention towards her.

 _“Oh!”_ she slapped her forehead, realization dawning on her. “You’re taking archeology now? Congrats, Wildcat! Though, you really didn’t seem the type.”

Both Entrapta and Catra paused to stare at her.

She scratched the back of her neck, looking awkward. “Did you mean the love kinda dating?”

“Yes, Scorps. ‘The _love_ kinda dating’.” Catra rolled her eyes. “And it’s not that surprising.”

“It certainly is,” Entrapta disagreed matter-of-factly. “You didn’t seem the type to willingly involve yourself with anyone platonically, much less romantically—I mean, Scorpia and I had to practically _force_ ourselves into being friends with you!”

“Don’t remind me,” she grumbled lightheartedly.

“This occurrence is _very_ curious.” She shoved a treat in her mouth, too fast for Catra to catch a glimpse of what it was, and seemed to swallow it in one gulp. Tapping her chin, she asked, “Are they paying you or vice versa?”

Catra bristled. _Damn._ She didn’t know whether to feel impressed or offended. But, just as she was about to deny her claim yet again, Scorpia acted faster.

“What? Of course not!” Scorpia turned to Catra and put a synthetic hand on her shoulder, her fingers whirring into place. “Who’s the lucky duck, Catra?”

Suddenly, Catra hesitated. She and Scorpia have long gotten over their brief sort-of-really-but-not-really-relationship-ish from their first year at Bright Moon University, but that didn’t desensitize her from any possible hurt feelings from Scorpia. Though it was never really something Catra showed any official commitment to, she couldn’t deny there was still some lingering—even if just one-sided—awkwardness. But in spite of that, even before she searched for any aching looks on Scorpia’s face, Catra knew that all she’d find was the same wholehearted supportiveness that she’s always received from the star football player.

Admittedly, Scorpia’s constant encouragement eased her into confidence.

Catra cleared her throat, reluctant nonetheless. “It’s… Glimmer.”

“Glimmer, Glimmer…” Scorpia tapped her chin, her brows furrowing. “I know that name… Hey, Entrapta, who’s Glimmer?”

Entrapta looked up from something in her lap, the red lenses of her goggles blotted with purple and pink icing. “Well, I recall that you know her from the social outing at the end of last semester. She panicked during the campfire because Bow told everyone that-”

Scorpia lit up. “Oh, right! She always has glitter somewhere on her face and Adora talks about her all the time!”

Catra raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with Scorpia’s relationship with Adora.

“You know, when Adora and I work out together,” Scorpia explained. “I see Glimmer and, um…” She snapped her fingers on her left hand. “Bow! Picking her up sometimes. She let me bench press her once, but my left hand was too stiff to be comfortable so we never did it again.”

Catra stared stupidly, taken off-guard. _Bench press her?_ “Oh.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty!” Scorpia grinned. “I can see why you like her.”

Strangely alarmed at that comment, Catra blinked before forcing her features into a poker face. Though she doubted either of them would question Catra ending the conversation there, she used the excuse that keeping the act up would be good practice to press the matter. “Yeah?”

“Totally! She’s into the same kind of music you’re into and, um… you’re both girls,” she offered. “Eh? Yeah? How ‘bout that? And it’s just a nice balance, you know?” she gushed. “You’re usually cranky and like a, _‘Grr! I’m still a moody teenager! I’m so cool,’_ on the outside and all soft on the inside while Glimmer’s like the sparkly princess type but, oh-” Scorpia huffed, waving a hand- “you can tell she hasn’t gotten past her emo years. We saw her at that store you like, too, right? Hot Tropics? But she disappeared before we could say hi. Weird…” She rubbed her chin, brows furrowing. “For such a sparkly girl, she blended in really well with the dark colours.”

It would be safe to say that Catra’s intrigue was no facade. “How do you know so much about her?”

“I sit beside her in sociology! She borrows my notes when she can’t read the board.” Scorpia chuckled, bashful. “I call her princess so often that I forget her name sometimes, but don’t tell her that!”

Catra waited for the information to buffer in her brain. “You take sociology?”

“I minor in it!” she said proudly. “I thought it would be a good idea to use it in my sports career. You know, like-” She held up her prosthetic hand, curling it into a victorious fist. _“‘Feminism! Gay rights! Down with ableism!’_ All that jazz. It’ll help a lot, I think.”

“Well… good for you, I guess.” Catra could see a loading bar above her head stagnate on 99%. “Yeah, that’s cool,” she said. Scorpia’s growing social circles surprised her, but her altruism didn’t. Every other week, she’d invite Catra and Entrapta to join her in racking up volunteer hours around campus for “Super Pal Trio bonding time”.

“Good for you, too, Wildcat!” Scorpia nudged her and beamed, a glint in her eyes. “I could _totally_ be your wingman. Have you met her mom yet?”

Catra took a big bite of her burger, hoping something ends up distracting Scorpia while she took her time chewing. Unfortunately, Scorpia only patiently waited for her to finish. “Uh, no,” she finally said, forcing her bite down. “I’m meeting her tomorrow,” 

Scorpia gasped, eyes shining with excitement. _“Oh, my gosh_ —where? what time?”

“Uhh…” She wasn’t sure why she complied, but Catra unlocked her phone, not having paid attention to what Glimmer’s been telling her. She saw that Glimmer had sent a reply, but ignored it. “Eternia Building, Twelvish.”

Scorpia made a fist. “We don’t have much time!” Scorpia turned her attention to the other side of the booth with the utmost urgency. “Entrapta-!”

“Got it!” The boxes rearranged, seemingly by themselves, so that they sat beside the engineer rather than in front of. The organization revealed Entrapta scrawling furiously on her tablet. “Catra is accustomed to functioning on a minimal amount of sleep due to her and/or Adora pulling all-nighters before a major exam or, in general, an unsound sleep schedule. Still, she _is_ only human and also drenched from the rain which puts her in a bad mood.” Entrapta turned her tablet, showing a hastily drawn spider diagram with an angry cat as the center. Two points stemmed from the main idea. “Her typical solutions to bad moods are either revenge or sleep-”

_“Hey-”_

“-so we’ll have to push her into her work mindset using her study habits to work swiftly and efficiently. We should be good to go by… hmm… ah, three A.M., variables in decisions over time considered.”

“Great!” Scorpia said.

Simultaneously, Catra bristled. “What?"

Scorpia had her game face on. “I’ll take Catra, you head up to her dorm and get set up. Hear?”

“Heard!” Entrapta gave them a double thumbs-up. “I heard Sea Hawk singing in the hall earlier—he should be able to help me with these boxes.”

“What’s going on?” Catra demanded.

Scorpia turned to her, grinning widely, and when her mouth opened, Catra’s heart went slack. “We’re going shopping!”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

“Those are the worst three words you have ever spoken to me,” Catra growled as she stepped out of the dressing room. The pale fluorescent lights didn’t help lift her mood whatsoever, especially how they bounced off of the sequins coating her torso.

“Ooh!” Scorpia said, delighted.

“I don’t think that’s the most… _impressive_ outfit you’ve put together so far, Catra.” Despite the lousy connection, Catra could still see Entrapta’s poor attempt at stifling her grimace.

“Ah…” Scorpia sounded disappointed. “Well, for what it’s worth, it wouldn’t be terrible for a sleepover! I think so, at least.”

Catra rolled her eyes, casually sneaking a glance at her gaudy, very not-sleepover wear in a nearby mirror. “Thanks.” She tugged at the collar, the blouse’s loose sleeves swaying with the movement. “This… really isn’t working out.” She was too tired to show her usual grumpiness in her tone, so she settled for stale indifference.

Entrapta hummed in concentration, a second voice harmonizing with her off-screen.

“I, for one, think your sequins will _dazzle_ Mrs. Brite!” Sea Hawk’s face squeezed against Entrapta’s, the latter of whom not having looked the least bit bothered. “Surely it’s con- _sequin-_ tial to your meeting tomorrow?”

Catra groaned. Did his support have to be doused in puns? “God, why is he still there? I thought he was just dropping you off before you kicked him out.”

“Oh, he’s helping me lay everything out in your room,” Entrapta said. Behind her, Sea Hawk was flexing in the mirror Adora normally used to do… well, the exact same thing.

“I’m gonna throw your key away later.” She made her way back into the changing room, already trying to tug the uncomfortable fabric off of herself. “Ugh.”

“That’s fine.” Entrapta waved a hand. “I have more copies!”

Catra groaned from behind the closed door, pulling harshly at the knot on the back of the flashy blouse’s collar. “Creepy.”

From the other side, she heard Scorpia fidgeting with one of the door handles. “I guess an H&M wasn’t the best place to get something for you,” she said dejectedly.

“It’s cool. We’re leaving, though. I hate this place.” She opened the door a crack, loudly sniffing to make her point. “I’m starting to smell like a suburban mom trying to find last-resort birthday presents for her hormonal teen.” She pushed down the recent memory of Scorpia calling her a moody teenager.

“Okay,” Entrapta said. “Don’t worry! Just because the first couple of stores didn’t work out doesn’t mean the rest will be the same. The last attempt will always work out so long as you keep trying!”

Catra smiled, feeling a half-convinced warmth in her faith. “For sure, Entrapta. See ya.”

“Good luck!”

“You, too!” Scorpia chimed in cheerfully, taking Catra’s unwanted clothes for her. She paused to watch Sea Hawk tape sheets of paper on the far wall and occasional stop to mutter praise to his work, then nodded dutifully along. “Mhm! Looks good.”

“Why, thank you!” Sea Hawk rested his chin between his thumb and forefinger, winking.

“Haha, yeah, thanks. See you, then!” With a final wave from Entrapta, the call ended and the screen went blank.

Scorpia frowned, dropping her cheek onto her left hand and drumming her fingers. “Now what? We’ve visited all of the open stores inside this mall. All that’s left are the thrift store outlets.”

“Oh?” Catra lifted an eyebrow and smirked, her snarky disposition evaporating. “Oh, Scorps, _now_ we’re talkin’.”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

**gliMMer**

**Yesterday** 7:22PM

We’re going to th cafe

We should get there together

Lets meet at the bus stop near my apartment

**Today** 9:36AM

Im gonna call you if yuo don’t reply

dam ok u ddint need to threten me

Threaten*

how did i kno that ud b that bitch

Ill meet u at the stop

y is it so far from me

You have a bike and i have short legs

oh ur gonna make me work for it huh ;)

**Today** 9:43AM

actually i feel like racing u there

What

ya

?????

whoever gets ther elast has to pay for teh next date

,

,,are u serious

About racing

ya

**Today** 9:50AM

Ure on

ya?

“Ya”

But

o great

We actually have to go on a date

lmao

Fr

wut

We need visual proof remember

i dont

,,,please

hm

well...........

since ur polite

Thanks

ofc baby ;)

Do NOT call me that in front of my mom

so i can call you baby any other time then is what ur sayign

No

aww baby dont b like tht

_Read 10:02AM_

“Oh, _man,_ am I nervous,” Scorpia said. She sat at the wheel, tapping her fingers with anticipation. She batted her specialized grip on the gear lever with the same jumpy energy. “But I’m also _super_ excited. What’s that word again?”

Catra looked up from her earlier messages with Glimmer and raised a brow. “Huh?”

“Like…” Scorpia brought the car to a stop in front of a red light and tapped her chin. “Nervouscited! That’s the one. I’m nervouscited. This is a _big_ date, Catra. Are you ready?”

Catra smirked. Of _course_ Scorpia would be more daunted than she was. “Readier than you, it looks like.”

 _“Ooh.”_ She squinted cheekily and blew a sharp breath. “Bonus points for the smooth talk.”

She played along. “Thanks. How many do I have so far?”

“Oh, you’re on _fire,_ Wildcat.” Scorpia tsked. “Bonus _bonus_ points. Now, let’s see… what did we learn last night?”

“You mean other than everything there is to know about Sparkles and her mom?” Catra let the momentum of the car moving forward push her head back against the seat. “Not much.”

“C’mon, Catra! Don’t make me deduct points from your scoreboard!”

“Oh, _no._ Not the scoreboard,” she deadpanned.

Scorpia went quiet for a moment, contemplative. “Are you sure we shouldn’t braid your hair or something?”

Catra gave her a playfully-but-also-genuinely bored sidelong look.

“Alright, alright. I trust ya. But be careful about throwing that eye around with Miss Angella,” she added. The banter ended there as Scorpia fell almost-silent, murmuring the occasional drivel to herself, dead focused on navigating the outer lane of a roundabout.

_Bzzt-bzzt!_

Catra looked down and saw a text from Glimmer. She moved to answer it, causing the plastic wrapping up the flowers in her lap to crinkle.

**gliMMer**

**Today** 11:29AM

My moms gonna b late

does tht mean shes payin for the date

Wow youre hilarious have u considered being a comedian

i moonlight

how far r u guys

Like 12mins

You?

_Read 11:32AM_

Catra glanced at the GPS on Scorpia’s phone.

_“19 min - Arrival: 11:48 a.m.”_

She narrowed her eyes. “Scorps, step on it.”

“Huh?” Scorpia turned to her long enough to raise an eyebrow, then put her eyes back on the road.

“Sparkles is ahead of us,” she said. “I wanna get there before she does.”

“Aw, ‘Sparkles’. Oh, that’s adorable—and here I am thinking ‘princess’ would be the cutest nickname she’d get,” Scorpia gushed.

Catra grumbled indistinctly, brushing her comment off.

“Don’t worry, Wildcat. I’ll get you there as fast as I legally can.” The car sped up ever-so-slightly, although the time until their arrival began to decrease.

“‘Legally,’” she scoffed.

Scorpia sighed, sharing the sentiment. “I know, I know.”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

“Are you trying to _kill_ us!” In the car in front of Scorpia’s, an uptight, shrill voice was thrown out the window. Catra recognized it instantly.

 _Ah, Sparkles,_ she thought.

“Whoops.” Scorpia shrunk at the wheel and winced but, for someone as tall as she was, it didn’t do much. She rolled her window down. “Sorry! Sorry, there! Totally my fault!”

“Don’t worry, you’re fine. Look: you even parallel-parked and didn’t run anyone over on the first try!” Catra gestured out the window, pointing to the non-provocative distance between the car door and the nearest pedestrian. They noticed the attention and waved back warily.

“I almost did, though…” She leered at the car before them.

Catra waved a hand. “Almost, schmalmost.”

Glimmer stormed out of the car towards Catra and Scorpia as Bow frantically exited the driver’s seat and scrambled after her. Catra could see his anxious sweating glinting under the sun.

Colour drained from Scorpia’s face. “Oh, my God, I nearly killed your girlfriend.”

Catra shrugged, unbuckling her belt and opening the door. “Eh, a date without thrills makes it a date without me.”

“A motto!” Scorpia clapped politely, although still high strung from the near-collision. “Keep it up and I’ll run out of points to give ya, Wildcat!”

She patted the all-star on the shoulder gratefully. “Thanks for the ride, Scorps.”

Scorpia smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but was beat to it with a-

“Oh.” Catra turned and saw Glimmer standing behind her on the pavement, forehead creasing as her conflicted eyes flicked from the driver to the passenger. Then, she put her hands together, somehow mustering a civil smile. _“Mm.”_

“Princess!” Scorpia greeted, obviously wringing herself to apologize a fourth time.

Catra inclined her head and leaned on the car roof, pulling her mouth into a sly smirk and ever-so-slightly lowering her sunglasses. “‘Oh,’ yourself, mopsy.” She stepped forward and extended a small bouquet of roses to her, winking. “Hope you practiced since yesterday,” she whispered, letting herself snicker. Scorpia and Bow probably found their secrecy precious, anyway.

Glimmer flushed and disgruntlement crossed her face, but only for a split second. She pressed her lips into a thin smile, making it pleasant by wrinkling her nose and dragging the corners of her lips upwards. She playfully-forcefully (more forcefully than anything) snagged the roses from Catra and hissed back through her teeth, _“Try me.”_


	4. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i took a 'what outfit should i wear' quiz to write this chapter and let me tell you i think everyone deserves to wear a long woven cardigan

“Smile!”

“Say, _‘cheeeeese’!”_

Behind their phones, Bow and Scorpia bared their pearly whites in their widest grins, trying to persuade the “couple” to smile for the camera.

“Scorpia, turn the flash off!” Catra complained. “It’s bright as _hell_ out here.”

 _“Bow…”_ Glimmer spoke through her teeth, her mouth frozen in what felt more like a grimace than it did a smile. “We’re in the _middle_ of the _street_. I’m _posing_ beside a _garbage can.”_

“Then move over!” Bow said, earning a laugh out of Catra. They scooted over, _away_ from the trash bin, and let a woman in a suit walk past.

Though the cafe’s front wasn’t terribly crowded, passersby still occasionally walked between the two pairs (polite ones skirted around) and gave the students the stink eye—or awkward, _I’m-pretending-there’s-nobody-there_ gazes straight ahead of themselves. Once, when the traffic light built up a flock of people, they had to press against the walls to avoid being trampled.

Glimmer shifted in place as she itched to run to the glass doors and throw herself inside and away from scrutiny, causing Catra’s arm around her shoulders to jolt and swat the side of Glimmer’s head.

 _“Watch it,”_ she murmured.

Catra clicked her tongue. “You first, _Sparkles.”_

“Huh?” Scorpia, hunched over to find the “perfect angle” for their shot, peeked over her phone. “You say something, Wildcat?”

“We were just talking about who’ll get their order in first.” She jerked her chin to the cafe doors, the lie coolly slipping off her tongue.

“Ah, I see! Don’t worry, buddy, just let me get a photo or two in!”

Glimmer dropped her wince-grin. “You haven’t gotten anything yet?”

“No, this…” Scorpia struggled to tap her phone with her hook-like hand. “This might take a few, uh…”

“Just turn your-” Catra began.

“Here, I can take it,” Bow offered kindly, stretching out his arm.

Glimmer felt Catra move and she turned to see amusement—and… warmth? _As if_ —on her face as she watched the exchange. Glimmer nudged her, raising an eyebrow. Catra, uncooperative as ever, returned the gesture.

Scorpia beamed, handing him her phone. “You’re a _lifesaver_ , thank you.”

“I can send you the ones I took, too, if you want?” He accepted it, then angled his own to show her what was in his gallery.

“Yes, please!” She leaned down, fully invested. “Ooh, I really like this one. Hey, check this out, you two!”

They peeked over his phone. On the screen, Catra’s aviators were donned and her leather jacket’s zipper glinted under the sun. Her hair was held back by a thick red headband, but it was in vain. Glimmer had mostly blocked Catra’s face with the roses, anyway, while her free hand was shoved in her short jumpsuit’s pocket. From inside her cardigan, the arm that Catra had around Glimmer’s waist stuck out and was shooting a peace sign at the camera.

Catra grunted. “Not bad.”

“Yeah, you even got her good side,” Glimmer said sarcastically, pointing to Catra’s jaw and chin, the only fully visible parts of her face.

Catra smirked at Glimmer, cockily running a finger down her jawline. It earned a scoff out of the shorter girl.

“Thank you!” Paying no mind to her quip, Bow’s shoulders rose to his ears, giddy. “Imagine what I could’ve gotten with a DSLR.”

Scorpia snapped her fingers. “Aw, dang it! I have one back home!”

He sighed. “So do I. No worries—it’s my fault for forgetting.”

Scorpia gasped. “Imagine what we could’ve done with _two-”_

 _“Please,”_ Glimmer said, pulling at her face, _“please_ tell me we’re done. I don’t want my mom to catch us just standing here.”

“And I’m pretty sure some kid behind me has been trying to photobomb this entire time.” At Catra’s comment, the four of them looked over her shoulder and, sure enough, caught a child whipping his head around to face his lap, suddenly very interested in his blank-screened tablet.

Bow put his hands up placatingly, exaggerating the defeat on his face. “Okay, okay, we’ll leave you two alone.”

Scorpia sniffed. “They grow up so fast…”

“I know,” Bow said, tears forming in his eyes. “It feels like just yesterday they were at each other's throats-”

 _“Bow,”_ Glimmer cautioned.

“Right, right! Sorry. Just one more, and we’ll be out of your hair. Promise! Now,” he said as he ducked behind Scorpia’s phone, “hold up those roses!”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

“This is a _cat_ cafe?” Catra’s attention bounced around the room with childish awe, taking in as much as she was able to.

“Yes? Can’t you read?” Glimmer pointed over her head where the cafe’s name was fixed. _“‘Whiskering Woods: The Cat Cafe’.”_

Catra ignored her, eyes widening in astonishment as they settled on something inside the cat lounge. “Oh, my God,” she breathed. Catra walked towards the glass as if she were in a daze, mystified by whatever was on the other side. Glimmer stepped into the cafe and followed.

“What is it?”

Catra put her hands on the window, leaning in so close that her nose pressed against it. Glimmer stared at her as she gaped and noticed the familiar insignia on the back of her jacket. She frowned, but then decided it was unimportant, walking up to stand beside Catra instead. She peered into the lounge to see for herself what was so interesting and was startled at what was behind the glass.

Catra was gawking at a greyish cat who, in turn, returned her wonder with the same indulgent apathy that Glimmer often received from the girl. The tabby cat’s right eye was yellow and it’s left eye was blue, completing Catra’s hazel left and blue right. Glimmer threw her focus back and forth between their faces, openly intrigued at the coincidence.

“It looks like you,” Glimmer said.

Catra nodded absently, still enamoured. “Yeah.”

Glimmer looked at her expectantly, raising an eyebrow. “Hello?”

“Mhm, yeah. Hi, there.”

It was clear she wasn’t listening. Sighing, Glimmer left Catra at the window and went to the quiet front counter, dismissing her minor exasperation to smile politely at the person behind it. “Hi.”

He nodded in response, his mouth quirking up when they jerked their head towards Catra. “Catra enjoying herself?”

“You know her?” she asked, startled.

He hummed his affirmation. “Rogelio,” he introduced. “Known her since preschool. Loves cats too much to be normal.” He shrugged. “Softens her up, though. You’d think Scorpia’s soft ‘til you see Catra with a kitt’n in her lap.”

“Oh, good.” She coughed, hesitating. _Play it cool._ “That’s a good thing, ‘cause… I’d get tired _way_ too fast if she acted… how she usually does.” Glimmer gulped. _Did I say that in a Bow way? Was that a Bow thing to say?_

Rogelio’s expression didn’t change, but bemusement slowly crept into his eyes. “Why’d you bring her along?”

 _Shoot, that wasn’t a Bow thing to say!_ she thought. _Think,_ think! _Do I tell him I’m on a date? Is it weird if I say my mom’s joining us? That’s so weird, don’t say that! Say something cool!_

“Ah-hah,” is what came out. “Oh… you know.”

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

He tilted his head, strands of his green hair sweeping to the opposite side of his face. “Uh.”

Glimmer laughed. Nothing about this conversation was funny. “Yeah.”

The poor boy crossed his arms, clearly uncomfortable. “Sure… Is this your first visit? Did you book anything?”

She shook her head, relieved at the change of subject but humiliated it needed to happen so indelicately. “No and no. We, um, figured it wouldn’t be busy on a Wednesday morning.”

“Figured right.” He leaned a hand on the counter, though one remained on his elbow as if he still felt uneasy. “Per head, half an hour costs eight, a full hour is twelve-fifty. Regular-sized drinks are included.”

“Just half an hour for two, thanks,” she said, pulling out a card from her purse. “Can we get the drinks after we leave the room?”

“Yup. Keep the receipt. Someone else is taking over for me in a few.”

“Okay, thank you.” She paused, realizing she still held the roses that Catra gave. “Uh, can I leave this out here?”

Not seeming to think anything of the flowers, he nodded to a set of wire cubbies by the lounge door. “Just leave ‘em in there. Shoes off, too.”

“Okay, thanks!”

“No problem,” he said, returning his attention to behind the counter. “Enjoy.”

“You, too!”

As soon as Glimmer turned her back with the receipt in hand, she cringed. She did _not_ just say that, did she? That entire ordeal went worse than her first time alone at a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Fighting down humiliation, Glimmer placed the roses on top of the storage cubes and her shoes beneath it. She looked to the side and, unsurprisingly, Catra still stood there with the same enchantment she had rolling off of her when Glimmer left her.

“Hey,” she said, tapping Catra on her shoulder. “You’re scaring the ten-year-old inside. Are we going in or what?”

Catra slowly tore her eyes off of the tabby, fixing the lovestruck gaze onto Glimmer and making her heart leap. “What?” Catra asked.

“You- _ahem_. 'Scuse me.” Glimmer cleared her throat, thumping a fist on her chest to try and collect herself from her abrupt, senseless frenzy.

 _Jeez, one bad encounter with a cashier and you lose it?_ she self-criticized. _Get out more, Glimmer._

“You’ve been holding a staring contest with that cat for, like, five minutes now. Do you wanna meet it or wait until Rogelio kicks you out for acting cuckoo?”

Catra snapped to attention, looking past Glimmer and giving the boy a Catra greeting: briefly making eye-contact before losing interest and finding something more appealing. In this case, the latter was Glimmer and the door that she pulled open.

“Well?” she invited.

Catra biting the inside of her cheek was all that Glimmer was able to glimpse before she became a blur of hair, leather, and jeans, breaking into a sprint through the door. She swerved to the left so sharply that Glimmer took back all of the disbelief that she had when Adora told her Catra was the MVP in their junior _and_ senior high school soccer teams.

“Wait, your shoes!” she said, jogging after her. Catra “subtly” stuck up two fingers in response.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

After the hassle of fighting to get her shoes off, Catra rushed into the lounge with no less spirit than before. In a blink, she had coaxed two cats into her lap, one of which was the tabby she was so enraptured with. Glimmer tucked the receipt into her pocket and shut the door behind her.

“Sorry,” she said. A cat meowed at her, pawing at the door it almost escaped through. It was immediately swept away by another patron who cooed at it with their best baby-talk. Glimmer grinned, then swept her eyes back to the windows.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” She spotted Catra sitting beside a tall cat tree, having accumulated three new feline friends. A cat with beautiful white fur found interest in her hair while the heterochromatic tabby and a huge, chubby cat sporting a bandana lazed in her arms. “I’m Catra. Listen, big guy, I like your bandana—red suits you—but I don’t think you’re supposed to wear it like some lady peasant from the fifteen hundreds. Here.” Catra moved to fix his outfit but stopped short when the tabby began to protest. “Ah, _wait,_ Deputy, don’t go…”

Glimmer pulled her phone out to get a picture just in time for a fourth cat to map out the new territory. As she snapped it, a text from her mom showed up, telling her that she’d arrive in about twenty minutes.

 _No worries,_ she thought, but didn’t send anything back.

“I got it,” Glimmer said. She sat down beside Catra and let the large orange cat sniff her hand to get comfortable. She felt Catra’s eyes on her as she adjusted his handkerchief, perplexed as to how it safely fit him, and looked up to confirmed her suspicions. “What?”

A brief panic startled Catra’s expression before confusion took its place. Cheeks tinted, she dropped her gaze to watch the cat move from her lap to Glimmer’s and said, “He likes you.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes and barked a laugh, thrown off guard at Catra’s uncharacteristically light infliction. “At least one of you does.”

Catra raised her brows and lightly scrutinized all four cats. “None of them seem bothered. Did they claw at you or something and I was too busy being loved to notice?”

“Exhibit A,” she scoffed.

Catra blinked, not registering Glimmer’s jape.

She glared. “I meant _you,_ Catra.”

 _“Oh,”_ she said, leaning back against the wall. “Yeah, I hate you.”

“Thanks for the confirmation.” Resisting another eye-roll, Glimmer propped her cheek on her hand and stroked the heavy but welcome weight in her lap. As she watched the cat’s long fur roll through her fingers, she asked, “What’s his name?”

Catra gave her a look. “What, you think I look at a cat and I immediately know its name? I just got here.”

Glimmer glanced at the window that Catra stood before and saw the cards with each cat’s profile on it, then stared pointedly at the girl.

“Eggos,” she said, defeated.

“He’s _huge.”_ Glimmer stroked his back, delighting in the purr it coaxed out of him.

Catra nodded as she indulged in the three cats that took an almost immediate liking to her. “He’s a ragamuffin for sure.”

She didn’t know what that was but humoured Catra, anyway. “How can you tell?”

Catra seemed to hesitate, but Glimmer didn’t mind. It made it easier to pretend she wasn’t there. “He’s either a ragdoll or a ‘muffin, and ragdolls strictly have blue eyes." She added, "I think."

Glimmer hummed in understanding, watching Eggos’s yellow eyes blink lethargically. He took Glimmer’s idle hand and began to take small, curious licks and she couldn’t help the dreadful thought of finding fur on her clothes for days.

They stayed like that for a while. It was peaceful as the atmosphere was playful, each person who visited enjoying what the lounge had to offer. Glimmer found a glove with silicone points protruding from the palm laying in a cat bed. Catra explained that it was a grooming glove.

“It makes shedding easier to clean,” she said, “and it feels pretty good, too.”

“Are you saying that from experience?” Glimmer joked, pulling it over her hand.

“Nah, obviously it’d feel nice. Why would they make something for cats if it makes them uncomfortable?” As if she realized she spoke too much to be convincing, she grabbed Glimmer’s wrist before she could drop her hand on Catra’s head. _“Don’t.”_

Glimmer pursed her lips to suppress a grin and began brushing Eggos’s remarkably untangled coat. Unfortunately, at that moment, a young patron’s tittering caught his attention. Ever curious, the cat languidly abandoned Glimmer and made his way across the room.

“I win,” Catra said smugly, having kept Deputy’s attention for their entire stay.

Glimmer glowered at her. Without warning, she planted her palm in Catra’s hair, fully aware that the glove still had strands of orange fur knotted in the soft prongs.

“Wh- _hey!”_

At her sudden movements, Deputy silently leaped out of Catra’s embrace and found her seat at the top of the cat tree. She managed to duck out of their view, her waving tail the only visible thing from the floor.

Catra, distracted by her dismay, was left unprepared for another one of Glimmer’s attacks. Glimmer rubbed her head, almost as if she were giving her a noogie, and laughed despite Catra’s murderous glare.

“I got some of your hai-!” she managed to say before Catra lunged for her glove. Although Glimmer tried to dodge, sitting in such close quarters made it difficult and, with ease, Catra caught her arm. She pulled it forward, twisting around so she was in between Glimmer and her fur-covered weapon. Catra wrangled it off of her and whooped victoriously, earning some looks from other patrons.

Glimmer grumbled at her defeat but stopped short when Catra’s head whirled around. With a change so sudden she almost got whiplash, they were face-to-face, nose-to-nose. Her irk faltered as she felt her face heat up exponentially and her breath hitch.

Catra continued to self-preen; if she was aware of the blush creeping on Glimmer’s face, she didn’t show it. _“‘I got some of your hair,’”_ she quoted in a mocking, nasally voice.

Whatever caused Glimmer to stumble was forgotten and her irritation rose up to bite back. _“Stupid-”_

“Um… good afternoon, girls.”

Their attention whipped to the voice. Before them, a woman stood tall, dressed sharply but in a way that retained an amiable air. If it weren’t for the awkward hesitation radiating off of her, just about anyone could think of her as the epitome of assertively humble grace. Her lightly-coloured blazer was unbuttoned to reveal a deep pink shirt and dark purple belt. Glinting beneath her strawberry hair, a pair of teardrop earrings dangled, matching the polished necklace hanging around her neck.

Though others might have been intimidated with such confident attire, Glimmer’s disquietude stemmed from somewhere _completely_ different.

“M-mom!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the dreaded author's warning arrives:
> 
> school begins in abt a week (i'm not counting down because i'm scared) so uhh,,, i guess i'll fail and keep working on this fic instead! :)


	5. “Are you saying that ‘cause you’re mad at me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i saw on tumblr that a few of you recommended vamb as a glitra fic and that was super awesome! thanks guys!

Catra bolted upwards, her sudden nervousness only partially feigned. She held out her hand, knowing that Angella appreciated polite formality. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Brite.”

The tall woman gently but firmly shook her hand, looking pleasantly surprised at her introduction. “Catra,” she said, “it’s wonderful to finally meet you.”

“You, too.” Catra smiled softly, repressing her awareness of the… _close vicinity_ that Glimmer’s mother caught the two girls in. “I’ve been excited since Glimmer told me you wanted to meet me, actually.”

 _“Now_ you use my name…” Glimmer muttered, almost too quietly for Catra to hear. She covered a laugh with an unassuming cough.

“Well, I’m touched.” Mrs. Brite’s eyes flicked between the two girls and a charmed smile began to tug at her lips, nearly reaching her eyes. “How long have the two of you-”

“Two weeks!” Glimmer erupted.

“-been waiting…?” The woman gave her daughter a questioning look. “Not… very long, I hope?”

Catra pursed her lips and covered her mouth to suppress another outburst of laughter. _Oh, God, do I help her? I really don’t want to._ But, against her better—or worse—judgement, she jumped in, anyway.

“Not long,” she reassured. “We lost track of time but no one’s kicked us out yet, so-” She rocked her hand back and forth- “less than half an hour. Was traffic bad?”

Mrs. Brite nodded, causing her earrings to sway. “Yes. It seems as if each time I try to leave my office, the red lights decide to work in tandem against me.” She took a step back, gesturing towards the door. “But if we may continue this in the cafe? I’d like to kill two birds with one stone and have lunch while we’re here.”

“Of course!” Putting on a smile, Catra extended an arm to Glimmer. “Sparkles?”

She nudged her away, pressing a palm to her face as she stepped towards the door. Shaking her head, she avoided all eye contact—even with the cats.

Oh, this was _so_ worth last night’s trouble.

Snickering, Catra jogged ahead of her and held the door open, leaning on her elbow to easily get in the girl’s face as she walked through. “Ladies first.”

Angella thanked her as she stepped into the cafe, then followed Glimmer into a table near the lounge windows. Forcing down her excitement in sitting so close to the cats, Catra pushed Glimmer’s chair closer to the table (whether or not nearly knocking her out of it was on purpose didn’t matter) before she pulled one out for her mother.

“Oh, no, no need for that!” she said, amused beatitude shining in her eyes. “I may handle myself, you don’t need to attend to me.”

Catra slid into a seat next to Glimmer, making her smile look sheepish. “Sorry, sorry, of course. I’m just nervous, I mean-” She wrung her hands out in the open. “Not only am I meeting you as _you,_ Mrs. Brite, but also as my gi-”

Her cheeks pinked at Catra’s praise. “Please, ‘Angella’ works just fine.”

 _Score._ “Oh! Well, Angella, then,” she said bashfully. “Um, I hope the teapot-vase-flower-thing wasn’t too corny. And that it wasn’t weird sending it to your office instead of just giving it. I didn’t know if I could bring outside drinks in here and I didn’t want to risk it.”

“It was lovely, thank you,” Angella replied warmly. “I thought it was very sweet of you, Catra. I hadn’t expected such an arrangement to greet me in the morning.”

“You-?” Glimmer stopped herself and Catra saw her rearranging her thoughts. “Oh, uh, you finally decided what to get her?”

“Yeah.” She grinned at her, laughing. “It was that tea care package you called tacky.”

Glimmer’s expression turned sour and she turned to her mother. Catra hadn’t told her anything about a gift, so it was safe to assume she channelled previous feelings of ire to say, “Mom, _please_ say you hate her and you want me to break up with her.”

Before Angella even had the time to process her words, Catra howled, feeling ambushed with Glimmer’s bold remark. _“Oh,_ God!” she barked, clutching her chest. _“Ow!”_ She felt tears prick her eyes at how hard she tried to contain herself.

 _“Glimmer!_ I-!” Angella cut herself off. She gave her daughter the look of a mother who _very_ badly wanted to be stern but was too dumbfounded to remember how.

“No, no,” Catra said, taming her laughter but not the openness of her amusement. “I’ve been awful to her about this for _days,_ Mrs. Br- er, Angella. I’m surprised it's taken her this long to say something like that.” 

“Mom, I’m sorry,” Glimmer said. It was hard to tell if she was.

Angella raised her brows, disappointed but notably not surprised. “I don’t believe I’m the one who should receive that apology, young lady. I understand that the two of you are cozy, but goodness…”

Glimmer smacked Catra’s arm when she snorted. “I’m sorry,” she said to her. Then, to her mother, “Happy? I _am_ sorry!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Catra, doing nothing to hide her entertainment, gently tapped Glimmer’s shoulder and encouraged her to stand. “Babe, how ‘bout you take five and grab us our drinks?”

“Fine,” she grumbled. She hauled herself up, almost grateful. “What do you want?”

“Eh… large espresso.”

Glimmer shook her head. “You can’t get a size up.”

Catra narrowed her eyes teasingly. “Are you saying that ‘cause you’re mad at me?”

 _“No,_ that’s just how it works, and a large espresso right before lunch is _crazy.”_ She spoke slowly and patronizingly, rolling her eyes. “Mom, do you want anything?”

Briskly recovering from her indignation (easily enough that it made Catra wonder how much practice she’s had), Angella put in a brief and unsurprisingly health-aware order. Glimmer nodded then slinked off to the counter, but not before Catra gave her a quick, flirty pinch on the arm. The shorter girl glared daggers at her but said nothing more.

Once she was gone, the two women at the table spoke at the same time.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking when I said that.”

“My apologies, I shouldn’t have spoken so rashly!”

“What? Don’t worry about it!”

“Oh, you shouldn’t be the one apologizing…”

They both paused, returning one another’s confounded expressions. Then, they laughed.

“My, and to think that I was worried about being too stiff and unable to make conversation when meeting you.” Angella daintily wiped at her eyes, huffing out the last of her laughter.

“Really? Angella Brite worried about not being social enough?” Catra cocked her head, disbelieving. “Nope, I don’t buy it.”

“Oh, you flatter me, but it’s true! There _is_ a difference between entertaining press and having a one-on-one with my daughter’s partner.” Angella gave her an appraising once-over. _”Especially_ if that partner is you, Catra.”

She raised a brow. “You’ve heard of me?”

“Have I heard of one of Bright Moon University’s most astute students by far?”

Catra leaned back in her chair and kept her tone light, though she’s heard this speech more than enough times. “Oh, jeez. ‘Astute’ isn’t the word I’d use.”

“You’re being too humble! I’m quite impressed with how low you manage to lie with such great capabilities.” Angella pursed her lips, somewhat embarrassed. “I admit, I did some light reading in preparation of today.”

“You and me both. But, seriously, it’s no big deal.”

Her eyebrows raised, expression inquisitive. “Many would care to differ. Not everyone receives _numerous_ offers for full-ride scholarships and retains them even after changing majors. Even before Glimmer revealed your relationship with one another, I had already caught word of your accomplishments—and not to mention your generosity with your time.”

“Oh, man.” Catra did her best to refrain from rolling her eyes and remained polite. “That last part is all my friend Scorpia. She drags me out pretty much daily to help out somewhere.”

“And the first part?”

She shrugged. “Right place, right time, and right people. Honest. The reason I overachieved pre-uni is because Adora didn’t want to without me.”

Something piqued Angella’s interest. “You are close to Adora?”

“I wouldn’t consider millions of miles apart very close,” she joked. “But, yeah, we grew up together. It’s pretty inevitable that her ambition rubbed off on me, even if I tried to avoid it. And trust me, I've tried.”

She smiled, though part of it seemed to be to herself. “Well, it’s reassuring to know that Glimmer keeps such good company here.”

Catra cocked her head, finding something strange with Angella’s curiosity. _Right, Glimmer doesn’t always tell her everything. Details are probably scrapped so she can just get to the point with her sometimes._

_...Has she ever complained about me to her mom?_

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

Angella chuckled. “It seems only fair that you do.”

“Has Spark- Glimmer said anything about me before?”

Amusement danced in her eyes. “Yes. It's quite funny, actually; for every good thing I’ve heard of you from the university, I’ve been cornered into something contradictory from her. Recently, though, the complaints have slowed.” Angella appeared jubilant as she leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I have a feeling that it may have stopped completely. I know that you’re a capable woman, Catra, but how exactly did you manage that?”

Catra stopped short. It was only yesterday that Glimmer had a reason to stop openly criticizing her. For once, she didn’t know how to answer.

Luckily, she didn’t have to. From behind Angella, she spotted Glimmer juggling their orders. Abruptly excusing herself, Catra helped her carry their lunch back to the table and sort out the food.

“Who’s this for?” she asked Glimmer, holding up a wrapped sandwich.

Glimmer slid a lidded cup towards her. “You.”

“Why?”

She stared at Catra, uncomprehending. “It’s lunch?”

Angella hid a laugh behind her fork, almost dropping a cucumber slice. To Catra's relief, it seemed that the earlier topic was dropped.

“Aw, does that mean you’re not mad at me anymore?”

She turned away, grumbling. “Shut up and eat.”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

“And this one-” Angella swiped her finger across the screen, revealing a much younger Glimmer crying, covered head-to-toe in glitter- “is from her fifth Halloween. She wanted her already sparkly dress to shine brighter and took matters into her own hands.” She laughed, covering her mouth with a hand. “I confiscated her glitter and she only talked to me after her _tenth_ giant chocolate bar.”

 _“Mom!”_ Glimmer struggled against Catra, who held her back from Angella’s phone.

 _“Ten_ mega-bars?” Catra said in disbelief, tears in her eyes from how hard she cackled.

“I know! It was particularly irresponsible of me. Normally, I wouldn’t let her indulge in so much sugar so late at night, but I just felt _awful.”_ She sighed, narrowly avoiding Glimmer’s grasp. “There was little I could do to stave off the guilt.”

 _“Hrnk!”_ Glimmer lunged for her phone again, but Catra intercepted, getting in her way and clasping Glimmer's hand in hers.

“Hey,” she said, winking.

Glimmer frowned over Catra’s shoulder, pouting angrily. _“Mooom!”_

 _“Mooom,”_ Catra mocked quietly, exaggerating the pitch of her mimicked Glimmer voice. Glimmer growled.

“But letting her indulge now and again isn’t the worst idea. I mean-” The next photo showed the same Glimmer—still looking like she stood by the wrong end of a unicorn—stuffing her chocolate-smeared face with a mostly unwrapped Kit-Kat. Beside her, a boy who looked suspiciously like Bow dressed up as a _(historically accurate? Wow.)_ pirate meticulously tried to peel off the rest of the wrapping before Glimmer could chomp it down.

“Mrs. Brite, _please_ send me that.”

 _“Nooo…”_ Glimmer whined, giving up the fight to slouch over and cover her face.

“Glimmer, your posture, please. Give that spine of yours some- oh, what is it... _TLC_. And again with the formality, Catra!” Angella joked delightedly, offering Catra her phone.

Glimmer grabbed at her as she set her contact into Angella’s phone, but she deftly avoided. Just as it was back with Angella, though, it began playing a mellow tune.

“Oh, excuse me,” she said, standing. “I must answer this.”

“‘Course! Take your time.” Catra waved, then turned to see a madly red-faced Glimmer who was back to hiding her embarrassment. She couldn’t help the laugh that came out of her. _“Whoa,_ Sparkles.”

 _“Don’t,”_ she stuck up her hand, although Catra had the feeling she wanted to show her a more specific sign. “I. _Hate_ you.”

Catra grinned. “Listen, this wasn’t _my_ idea.”

“Shut.” She tightly gestured with both hands now, eyes fixated on the floor. Her voice was a pained whisper when she muttered, _“Up.”_

Shaking her head, she found her seat at the table and cordially clasped her hands together. “Whatever you say, dear. Take a seat?”

Glimmer seemed to find the strength to glare at Catra, but only for a moment. She balled her fists at her sides and returned to wishing hell upon the ground.

“What, you’re just gonna stand there?” After a moment of no response, Catra shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Pulling up her phone, she was greeted with a long chain of frantic, hysterical texts.

**adora the explorer**

**Today** 12:15PM

CATAR

CRATRA*

CARART**

ARRHG 😡😾

CATRA1!!1!!!******

SO I’M IN GREECE RIGHT??

WE STOPPED AT ATHENS AND LET ME TELL YOU US HISTORY MAJS ARE OFF OUR SHITS

DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE PEOPLE WHO READ PERCY JACKSON

WE’RE HERE FOR A WHLIE AND I FNOUD OUT TEHRES A FERRY GOING FROM ATHENS TO LESVOS

ONLY 1!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT

HOMOPHOBIA

AND IT ONLY COMES AROUND WEEKLY DOUBLE HOMOPHOBIA!!

SO I GAVE WORD TO MY SUPERVISORS THAT I’LL BE GONE FOR OVER A WEEK

And they trust me because I’m a good student 😊😊

(AND IF I DNOT COME BACK IT’S BECAUSE I’M LIVING THE LESBIAB LIFE)

I TOOK IT AND SAILED FOR TEN HOURS

THEN GUESS WHO I MET ON…….

THE ISLE OF LESBOS!!!!!!

Below the text was a photo of Adora grinning from ear-to-ear, cheeks completely flushed as a familiar face smiled faintly at the camera. She smiled amusedly as she gave a thumbs-up, her white Superman curl falling to the side. There wasn’t much background to see as the two girls took up most of the screen—and it was suddenly made clear to Catra how obvious it was that Adora was a tourist.

 _A fanny pack? Really?_ she criticized lightheartedly. _She’s not even wearing it properly._

Can _you even wear a fanny pack properly?_

**adora the explorer**

**Today** 12:22PM

HUNTARA!!!!!

SFDFSDGFGHGFWERG

SHE RECOGNIZED ME FROM WHEN YOU FOUGHT THAT FRAT GUY!!

NOW SHE’S GIVING ME A TOUR AROUND LESBOS 🌈🌈🤗🤗

**Today** 12:35PM

say hey for me

let her kno im lovin th ejacket

“Hey, Sparkles, come over here.” She waved her hand for Glimmer to sit beside her.

She scowled and whipped her head away.

Catra groaned. “I’m taking a picture for Adora. She’s with Huntara, so I wanna show her that I’m wearing the cool jacket she scored me.”

Glimmer peeked curiously at Catra, though aggression still radiated from her. “Huntara?”

“Yeah, she met up with her on Lesbos.”

“Lesbos,” she deadpanned.

“I know, right? Dumbass probably got lost in the olive trees.”

“Or Huntara’s eyes,” Glimmer snickered. She settled down, holding her palm out expectantly.

Just as she was about to hand over her phone, a thought crossed her mind. Catra smirked.

“What?” Glimmer asked, confusion and annoyance mixing in her voice.

She slung an arm around her shoulders. “Take a picture with me.”

“What, so you can add it to your album of embarrassing pictures of me?”

“Yeah. Problem?”

“Ugh.”

**adora the explorer**

**Today** 12:38PM

hangin with my own crush

arnt we the cutest

she a little grumpy tho :(

“I’m very sorry, girls.” Catra gazed over to see Angella walking back, looking apologetic. “We’ve run into a quandary at work and I’m afraid I’m needed to help with the situation.”

“What happened?” Glimmer asked, attentive.

Angella shook her head, dismissing heavy concern. “Nothing irreparable. From what I understand, one of the interns were unaccounted for for some time and just now they found him trapped somewhere rather, um, _bizarre._ They want me there to handle any questions from the press, but I’m also leaving to have a word with his supervisor.” She scoffed. “Honestly, a boy is missing for three hours in my building and only now I hear of it.

“But, girls, this is none of your concern. You’re here now, so enjoy your date!” Angella cupped both of her hands around Catra’s, smiling affectionately. “It was lovely meeting you, Catra, truly.”

“You, too-” She paused pointedly. _“Angella.”_

“Finally! And all it took was for a boy to go missing?” she kid. “Oh, my, I shouldn't joke about that so soon. Will the two of you stay here for longer? You seemed to enjoy your time with the cats—let me pay for another hour.”

“Woah, you don’t need to-” Catra began. She jumped, realizing her arm was still around Glimmer's shoulders, and quickly pulled it back.

“No, I insist!” Angella stood and pushed her chair in, holding a hand up to silence her. “Consider it a thank you gift for the flowers and all that.”

“Oh, no, I can’t-”

Angella placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling. “Yes, you can— _and_ you will! Please.”

Catra sighed and gave Glimmer a helpless look, playing up the girlfriend act. Glimmer shrugged and shook her head.

“Just let her. She’s not gonna stop.”

She sighed, smiling up at the woman. “Alright, I guess. Thanks.”

Satisfied, Angella strode to the counter before either girl could change her mind. As she walked out of earshot, Catra leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Damn, Sparkles, our first date and your _mom_ pays for it.”

 _"I_ paid for it _first,"_ Glimmer hissed. She rubbed her face, red creeping down her neck. “Are you going in with the cats or not?”

Catra hopped up from her chair, racing against no one to the doors of the lounge. “Last one there’s a sparkly, five-year-old princess!”


	6. “You don’t come across as the kind of person to have very many life skills.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you didn't get cold feet while waiting! i set this document name as "PRTFL. P2 - 2019" and the font to a 9 so i could work on it at school lmao
> 
> enjoy!

_Bzzt-bzzt! Bzzt-bzzt!_

“...mm? Wuh…” Glimmer forced her eyelids open, rolling over to find the source of the buzzing. 

Half-tucked underneath her pillow, her phone lit up with two new notifications.

_catractive just posted a photo for the first time in a while._

_catractive tagged you in a photo._

She groaned at the worthless interruption, cursing herself for not turning on do not disturb last night. She shifted back into her original position, holding the dreadful sleep-breaker and swiping the notifications away.

_“Ooooohhh, Glimmer!”_

She groaned, hiding under her sheets and squinting at the clock on her screen. _"Nooo...!"_ she called. She heard the door open as Bow let himself in.

...which he only did if he was excited to show her something.

Grumbling, Glimmer rubbed the sleep from her eyes, tearing them away from her phone only to look directly at Bow’s. So close to her face, whatever was on his screen was a blurry mess of blue light and muddled colours.

 _“Bow,”_ she whined, pushing his arm away. Whatever complaint she had to give next was cut off by a yawn.

Her roommate giggled, clutching his phone to his chest as he waited for Glimmer to get her bearings. “Good morning! Did you sleep well?”

 _“Grrm-hrm…_ Five minutes…” She turned her back to him, pulling her blankets over her head.

Bow sighed and she felt a slight weight drop down and shift her bed. “Alright…”

The world fell back into moderate silence. Being warm underneath her blanket felt like heaven; there, she heard only quiet breathing and the steady sounds of a college neighbourhood on the ground far below her. A soft _thum_ _p_ sounded behind her, indicating that Bow put his bag down and was here to stay.

“Hum…”

A few more seconds pass by before-

“Gee…” _Heave._ “Sigh…”

Glimmer uncovered her head, lazily cocking her head to the side. “What.”

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” he said, lifting his chin off of his hand. He was kneeling beside her bed, arms crossed and laid comfortably on her mattress. From what Glimmer could make out with her still-blurry vision, he was already dressed for the day.

“Yeah, my alarm wouldn’t stop mourning.” She moved her hand underneath her pillow, fully facing him now. “What is it?”

“Look!” He thrust his phone towards her but far away enough this time that she could now see his screen. To her disappointment, it displayed Catra’s Instagram.

 _“im with stupid ➡️✨”_ was written underneath the selfie she and Catra took yesterday to send to Adora.

 _I should’ve seen that coming,_ Glimmer noted grumpily. _At least I was ready for the shot._ But the relief was quickly alleviated by the rest of the photos.

"When…?"

Taking Bow’s phone, she scrolled through Catra's post. She went to the cover slide first, which showed one of the pictures taken outside of the cafe by their friends, but the rest were… all candids of her with the cats? Half of them were embarrassing, capturing her worst _learned-that-the-hard-way_ moments—including belly rubs, fangs, and unforeseen retractable claws—while the others were of them "happily" spending their time "together" in the lounge. Most embarrassingly, the last slide featured her standing tip-toed on the bus bench, one hand braced on the back of the bench and the other held above her eyes. To viewers, she probably looked like she was playing around with Catra on their "date", but Glimmer knew that yesterday, she got impatient waiting for the city bus and tried to look over the traffic as Catra laughed at her. At the memory, she regretted not having Sea Hawk at hand to give them a ride.

Or, you know, give Glimmer a ride back and leave Catra stranded downtown.

"You're so cute!" he squealed, squishing his hands against his cheeks. "I know you thought your mom would make it awkward yesterday-"

 _Mm, yup. That's why I didn't want to go._ Totally _the reason._

"-but I'm so glad the two of you could enjoy a date, anyway. Argh! If only I could like a post more than once!"

“Hah, yeah,” Glimmer said weakly, returning his phone before she could fail to resist throwing it across the room. “If only.”

Bow puckered his lips, clearly trying to suppress his smile, and gazed at his screen with daydreamy eyes. His voice raised several octaves when he said, “I think I’m gonna pick up scrapbooking again.”

She sighed. “What’s worse is that I think Catra would get a-” She stopped herself. What was a genuine, less boorish way to say “get a kick out of”? “Uh, she’d love that.”

His grin was so wide that Glimmer worried she’d have to deal with a Joker look-alike for a lifelong best friend. “I’ll get started right now!” He practically threw himself towards her door before freezing in a picture-perfect running man pose. “Right after I finalize my apprenticeship with Entrapta. And finish today’s classes. And hand in my paper on ethical design.” He stood there for a moment, staring at the floor with a hand around his chin.

“You know, I’m always impressed when you completely skip the first four stages of grief and jump to acceptance.” Glimmer ran her hands through her hair, testing the waters to see if it would cooperate today.

Bow comically bolstered with pride. “Why, thank you! I-”

Both he and Glimmer flinched as his phone loudly rang _Flight of the Bumblebee,_ a ringtone which Bow insisted helped him to speed up and get ready for the day. Glimmer couldn't complain though; so far, it's worked.

“Shoot, that’s the third Flight this morning!” He gestured to the direction of the kitchen before disappearing down the hall. “I made breakfast today—just reheat it if it's too cold! Ah, ah, wait, keys!”

"In here!" Glimmer found them first, left behind on her bedside, and Bow reappeared at her doorway to swipe them out of the air. He caught them with a smile and a thank you, closing her door before rushing away. Being Bow, in spite of his hurry, he closed it gently and released the handle with a soft _click_. His footsteps rapidly thumped away.

Throwing her legs over her mattress, Glimmer easily filled his absence with a yawn; however, it was interrupted _just_ as she got to the best part as Bow burst back into her room and yanked his bag with him into the hallway. _“Yoink!_ Bye!”

Glimmer giggled, making her way to the kitchen, and just like that, it was as if she hadn’t done the equivalent of selling her soul for a corn chip just two days ago. She went through her morning routine—her dishes in the sink for later; a nice, warm shower; today’s OotD; and so on—and by the time she walked through the door, she’d already forgotten about what greeted her as soon she woke up. In Sociology 215 when Glimmer found her seat next to Scorpia, she took satisfaction in knowing that this would be as close as she’d get to Catra today.

“Good morning, princess! Ready for another day?”

Glimmer smiled at her, appreciative as she saw that Scorpia once again saved the seat next to her. “You know it!”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

She should've knocked on wood.

Throughout her day, she seemed to find Catra far more than usual: in the library, she saw Catra combing through the CDs and records with thick books about musical culture under her arm; across one of the courtyards, Catra biked through the light crowd with her sweater waving in the air behind her, quickly disappearing from Glimmer’s sight as she went out onto the streets; in the east park, she spotted Catra with a guitar slung on her back beyond Perfuma and her tai chi group, winking when she met Glimmer’s stare—she wasn’t going to get a break, was she? This was _frustrating!_ It felt as if the harder Glimmer tried to avoid the girl and get some peace of mind, the easier it was for them to stumble into the same room together. If they didn’t miraculously end up in the same place, she’d get a popup nagging her about a new comment on Catra’s post. After the fifth consecutive notification, she muted her Instagram entirely, irked.

Of course, she could also be paying more attention now that they were… _involved,_ but that reasoning was a last resort—today was just _not_ her day, was all. It wasn’t as if she had any actual interactions with Catra, and she wasn’t about to trade those in to kick out their accidental infrequent eye contact.

With that mindset, Glimmer was able to cope until dinner rolled around. She readily marched into the busy food hall, lugging today's homework haul with her and feeling worthy of a relaxing break. She stood on her toes, scanning the dense crowd for Bow’s familiar face.

For _Bow’s_ face.

_Bow._

Her _roommate_ and _best friend._

So _why,_ of _all people,_ did she have to bump directly into the devil herself?

“Hey, careful,” Catra said. She whirled around and gave Glimmer a critical look before surprise overtook her expression. “Oh? Sparkles.”

Glimmer shrieked, exasperated. “My _name-”_

“Hey, Catra, I got you some-” From over Catra’s head, Scorpia met eyes with Glimmer and gasped. “Princess! how’s it going? _Ooh,_ did I interrupt a moment? I’m sorry. I’ll just- I’ll be over- um-” Scorpia pointed around frantically before settling on a booth with Entrapta in it. “I’ll be there. Over there-”

“Scorps, it's cool.” Catra stuck her hands in her pockets, levelling Glimmer with a cool but somewhat-more-interested-than-usual stare. “Wanna join us for dinner, babe?”

Her horrendous pet name snapped Glimmer to attention. “Uh, no, it’s alright. I’m just looking for- _Bow?”_

She didn’t intend for the last word to come out sounding so betrayed, but seeing Bow holding a tray and gladly taking a seat beside Entrapta, she couldn’t help it. Hearing his name, he searched for the source and burst into a smile.

“Glimmer, you’re here! I was just about to call you.”

She heard Catra snort behind her as she walked up to the table, befuddled. “We’re here tonight?”

Bow shrugged his shoulder bag off, hanging it on the booth hooks. “It wouldn’t hurt to spend time with my mentor outside of work. And it’s a bonus! You and Catra can hang out more, too!” Using jazz hands, he sung, "And _Scorpia's here!"_

Glimmer paled, then immediately heated up when she felt Catra’s arm around her waist and breath on her ear.

“I don’t like it any more than you do, Glitter,” she whispered. Then, a little louder, she said, “But who can say no to those faces?”

At the table, Bow and Scorpia looked at Glimmer with their best puppy eyes. Entrapta, taking her hint, smiled encouragingly.

“According to my research, lovers-"

Glimmer bristled.

"-who spend time with one another’s friends tend to be much happier in their relationship than those who spend their time solely alone together.” Entrapta tapped her chin. “I’ve also read that pets have this sort of ‘sixth sense’ for their owners’ partners, but I have yet to look into their reliability.”

“Whaf awouf Ewiwy?” Scorpia said, inhaling her spring rolls.

Entrapta raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m not sure if I can program a textbook imitation of unexplained animal nature into a Roomba, but I could certainly try! Maybe you could help me with that, Bow. How are your animal handling skills?”

“I rode a pony once in fifth grade.” He handed Glimmer her—stay-in, _darn_ —food as she put her bag to the side and slid into the U-shaped booth. Catra slipped in next to her, lounging her hand on the back of their seat. Did she always sit like that?

Glimmer moved her attention to Bow and giggled. “And you fell off a dozen times, too.”

“Yes, I fell off twelve times. But who got up thirteen?” Bow nobly pointed his thumbs at himself, pleased.

Scorpia was the last to sit down with them, and Glimmer realized that she was, effectively, trapped. Even if Bow stood to throw away everyone’s trash, Entrapta would still be there on Glimmer's right—if Scorpia did it, then Catra would be the obstacle (as usual). If she crawled underneath their table, desperately scrambling over everyone’s legs would be both difficult and embarrassing.

...was vaulting over the seat an option?

Catra whistled. “Now _that’s_ the attitude to have. Hey, Scorps, what’s with all the quinoa?”

Everyone looked down at Scorpia’s plate. It sported shrimp spring rolls; roasted mushrooms; and meatballs, all, apparently, containing quinoa as an ingredient. Scorpia was seemingly unable to stop stuffing her face, but Glimmer couldn’t blame her—even in this packed hall, the smell of her food wafted distinctively and attractively.

“One’a da cookth tryin’ new reshipiesh?”

“Or the quinoa’s about to go bad.” Catra speared half of a meatball onto her fork and chowed down. “Mm. Tastes like my cooking.”

Glimmer blew a raspberry. “Please.”

“What, you don’t think I can cook?”

“You don’t come across as the kind of person to have very many life skills.”

Catra hummed. “And you do? _Aah_.”

“Huh?” Glimmer turned from her food to see Catra holding her fork to Glimmer’s mouth, offering her the second half of the meatball. No matter how many times she cursed the rate of blood flow to her cheeks, it was all she could do not to meet anyone’s eyes when she took a bite. Don’t get her wrong—the sauce-covered meatballs were _delicious—_ Glimmer was just…

“Good, right?”

…“preoccupied” might be the word.

“Uh.” She chewed almost mechanically, relying on muscle memory to prevent herself from swallowing the thing whole. “Yeah.” She felt eyes on her, though it may have been embarrassment mixing with paranoia—she didn't try to prove it. _Change the subject, change the subject._ “You can cook like this?”

“I used to cook, but not this well.” Catra leaned back, popping her own food into her mouth. “Haven’t touched a stove in a while, though. I’ll probably set something on fire.”

“Oh.”

Sounds of dinner and tête-à-tête clamoured homely inside the hall. In a nearby kiosk, a cook made a show of her profession, multitasking between chopping ingredients at impressive speeds and wrapping them up in fresh tortillas. At the entrance, a group of people struggled to haul a buggy through the horde of hungry students, one of their members brandishing a microphone as if it were Excalibur. On one of the small stages, a band performed tonight, playing a song that Glimmer didn’t recognize—an original, maybe? She knew that plenty of the music students here wrote and performed on the side… did Catra? Is that why she seemed so immersed in her books in the library earlier? Or was that something she needed for her major?

Wait. _Uh?_

Glimmer shoved her fork into her mouth, forcefully scrambling her thought process and reentering the conversation at the table.

“-would not be surprised! Untampered with, Emily was already very receptive. After adjusting her system, I was able to implement environment-activated audio and video responses. Once, she played _World is Mine_ when she noticed my lack of motivation to run diagnostics on EKS.” Entrapta paused. “Now that I think about it, I have no idea how she accomplished that. I don’t remember installing anything like that into her software.”

“Wow!” Bow exclaimed. “That’s amazing!”

Entrapta clapped her hands, forgetting her uneasiness. “I _know_ right? And I thought we’d peak at iDogs!”

Dinner passed by peacefully, especially since Catra was too caught up with eating to fake-flirt with Glimmer some more. The group talked freely and if there were holes in their conversations, they were never awkward. Surprisingly, Glimmer liked being at the table even though Catra sat right next to her; unfortunately, though, the enjoyable downtime was cut short as Entrapta checked her phone.

“Ah, Bow?”

He looked at her, still smiling from Scorpia’s recollection of today’s coaching incident. “Yeah?”

“We should get to my shop before it gets too late in the night. Additionally, I don’t want to worry Emily.” She glanced at her screen. “Also, my phone is dying. I think I streamed too much League today.”

Bow blinked. “Right now?”

“Yes. This may be the last time our schedules line up with enough latitude for details until next week and I don’t think your terms of apprenticeship can wait until then…?"

Bow thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"It’s my fault for making you wait so long and I’m sorry about that but-” Entrapta bowed her head, looking guilty- “Fridays are my prime days to go over the weekly summary and see what needs attention. I leave Saturday to confirming next week’s schedule and preparing for it.”

“Oh, oh, okay.” Bow appeared slightly frazzled. “Glimmer, are you okay with stopping by Entrapta’s for a bit? I’m really sorry.”

Glimmer shook her head. “No, it’s okay.” She pointed to Entrapta, who looked at her in a way that Glimmer now recognized as being ready to give another apology. _“It’s okay!_ I don’t have any morning classes tomorrow, anyway.”

Bow scratched his chin, furrowing his eyebrows. “Entrapta, can you just give me a ride back afterwards? Glimmer, you can take my car-”

“It’s cool. I can take her home,” Catra offered suddenly. She whacked her chest with a fist, drawing out a loud burp. Glimmer winced.

“Really?” Bow hesitated. “I’m not sure… Busses can get pretty dangerous the darker outside it is, even on campus. I-I don’t mean to underestimate you! I just, you know, want to make sure you guys stay safe.”

Glimmer was about to agree, both because of Bow’s logic and her personal preference to not be alone with Catra again, but Catra spoke first.

“Nah, I got a bike. If anything, you should be worried about Sparkles losing her grip and falling off. You ever ride one before, babe?”

She coaxed the vein in her forehead to control itself. “It’s not gonna be easy to get from here to the north apartments on a bicycle.”

Catra stared at her blankly, uncomprehending. Then, her eyes widened and she laughed. “Like, a motorbike?” She reached out and smoothed Glimmer’s forehead with the back of her finger. “Take it easy, Frowney, I’ll get you there before your bedtime.”

Glimmer’s interest piqued, letting Catra’s insult fly over your head. “You have a _motorbike?”_

“Yeah? Didn’t you listen when I told you last week?”

Oh, _fuck_ her. They weren't even on civil speaking terms last week.

She gestured to the purple-haired girl hurrying to stuff the last rice ball into her mouth. “Entrapta had some fun with old automotives. She finished working on the bike earlier and… turns out she actually isn’t half bad at it.”

“But,” Entrapta said, quickly swallowing her food, “if I were, that would have been just as great! I’ve never had an engine explode on me while it was still in its original vehicle before—my 'I should be dead, but I'm not!' record would reach a new weekly high! Still, it’s probably a good thing that Sea Hawk takes such good care of his babies.”

“He really does!” Bow said, nodding enthusiastically.

“It was Sea Hawk’s before?” Glimmer asked.

Catra raised a brow. “You really weren’t listening?”

She rolled her eyes, pushing her. _“C’mon,_ let’s just _go.”_

"Wait, I'm still eating!"

"Just get a to-go box, come on!"

“Jeez! Someone’s excited. See you, guys.”

As they received a chorus of goodbyes; goodnights; and enjoy-your-meals, Glimmer paced her stride, refusing to give more of a hint that Catra was right. But could you blame her? Riding a motorcycle—now _that’s_ pretty badass.

Later on, though, seated in close quarters behind Catra and (reluctantly) borrowing her helmet, Glimmer weighed the pros and cons of keeping her hands to herself. Con: not holding on would mean she fell off; pro: falling off would mean she wouldn't have to be around Catra.

Catra looked at her over her shoulder with a wicked grin on her face. Her eyes flashed devilishly under the parking lot lights as she revved her engine, the glow of traffic outlining her form in reds and yellows. “You’re gonna want to hold on tight, 'princess'.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time! thanks for reading!


	7. “Uh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: there's a bit about drinking in adora and catra's texts. read the texts under "Today 9:16PM" and you'll be good. don't worry, you won't miss much if you skip the messages above!
> 
> thank you to new readers who somehow still found this work and gave it kudos despite my absence! and thank you to all readers for your patience! i'm planning for university and built up a bit of a backlog of homework when i went away for a wedding.
> 
> happy early halloween and enjoy this chapter!

Catra wasn't accustomed to people _not_ telling her to slow down.

As soon as they left the tight parking lot, Catra accelerated from a twenty to a sixty in less than half a minute of maneuvering traffic, not heedless of the danger but definitely not tentative, either. She wove perilously between trucks and cars through gaps so slim that one wrong move would have knocked her mirrors right off their hinges. Damn, she should get speakers—she could've done with some Rolling Stones just then. At yellow lights, she would zip right through, hair dancing in the wind, gleefully aware of the drivers behind her honking and lagging. If the streets weren’t so packed and Catra’s hard-earned respect for the fifteen minute post-meal rule, the world around her would’ve been a complete blur.

Much to Catra's surprise, Glimmer squealed and whooped with reckless abandon, completely overtaken by adrenaline. She’d never admit it, but Catra would get concerned with how easily Glimmer could throw her hands up and rely solely on her legs to keep on the bike. Belatedly, she remembered that the backrests were in her saddlebags. Still, though Catra told her to, "Keep your hands in, stupid," when she peeled an arm off of Catra’s waist to point to a window between two vehicles, Catra would gladly carry out her request with energy to match hers.

 _Turns out you_ do _know how to live a little, Sparkles,_ she thought, tightening her grip on the handles.

Just for fun, she went a superfluous circle in the inner lane of a roundabout and fought a grin when she heard Glimmer laugh. It was loud enough to ring through the bar covering her mouth, sending goosebumps down Catra’s arms.

She split through an exit, uncomfortably coughing once. In the slow lane, she took a second to adjust her sleeves for no apparent reason and earned a heckle from a disconcerted Glimmer. Pride wounded, Catra responded with an abrupt lurch forward.

 _“Hey!”_ Glimmer smacked her shoulder, but if it was supposed to be playful, it sure didn’t feel like it. “Watch it!”

“Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you. Wanna take the helmet off for me, sweetheart?”

Glimmer groaned. Pressed so close together, Catra felt the girl's whole body heave. “Again with the nicknames, _Meerkat.”_

“Uh, I’ll have you know that my beloved nickname is _‘Wildcat’,_ thank you very much.”

“‘Sorry, _what was that?_ I can’t hear you,” she mocked. “Did you say, ‘Pussycat,’ sweetheart? Fuck off.”

“Whoa, back up. Did I just hear _the_ Glitter Brite—I mean, like, Mommy and Daddy's Girl of the Century, precious little kid of one of BMU’s greatest alumni, Goody-Two-Shoes-Mc _Gee-”_

“Did they cover this monologue in our Shakespeare unit back in high school? Funny, I can’t remember it.”

Catra snorted. “You just said, ‘pussy’ and, ‘fuck’ back to back, so don’t blame me if _you_ threw me off guard here. D’you speak to your mommy with that mouth?”

Glimmer shifted tensely and Catra could nearly see her face turning red without having to look at her.

Catra paused for a moment and then it hit her. “Oh, my God. Did you just make _yourself_ uncomfortable?” She cackled, dexterously swerving across two lanes.

“Shut-!”

“Wait, wait, wait, hold o- _ha!_ Hold on.” Her words were thick with hilarity. “So when you told me to, and I quote, ‘save your fuckin’- _ff_ number’—what, were you just having a breakdown wrapped up in your blanket?”

Glimmer bumped her back with her helmet, muttering something incomprehensible.

“Now, _Sparkles,”_ Catra chastised, “what did your mommy say about _mumbling?”_

They passed a handful of avenues when the girl finally spoke up. “It’s _easier_ when you’re just _typing it out!_ And I shouldn’t make a habit of it! What if I accidentally say it in front of the wrong person?”

 _'The wrong person,'_ Catra noted to herself. _So, like, pretty much just her mom._

“And before you say anything, _no_ , not just my mom. My dad will probably cry. God, my aunt will go _nuts.”_

Catra snickered. “How nuts?”

“She and my mom will go _two_ different kinds of nuts: Aunt Casta will probably feel free to swear around me as much as I’m _pretty_ sure she usually does and my mom will… try and force me out of university and social life.” She presented the last theory with a dazzling dryness.

Catra slowed to a stop to let a group of women pass. _“No,”_ she said, voice balanced between disbelieving and patronizing.

Glimmer missed her tone. _“Yes!_ It’s _crazy,_ right? Like, _what_ is _wrong_ with my family? I said, ‘stupid’ _once_ when I was, like, _five_ and she grounded me for a _week. Straight.”_

Catra couldn’t help it and mustered enough control to pull over next to the sidewalk. She was shaking so hard from the effort already, but it was no longer in her power to stop her laughter from exploding out of her. She leaned a hand against the trunk of a small tree and a foot on the ground, too carried away with her laughter to nudge the kickstand down. Glimmer slapped her back, drawing out a hysterical, “Ow!” and convincing Catra to turn around in her seat.

“I’ve _totally_ said, ‘fuck you,’ to you before! Stop it!”

“Yeah, when Sea Hawk got you drunk off your _a-”_

“We do _not_ talk about that!” Glimmer fumed.

Catra withstood a few more blows before catching Glimmer’s wrists midair. Her bike teetered and tottered as the two girls bickered, but Catra’s infinitely greater experience with physical fights brought her to the top—literally. She leaned over Glimmer, who was now pushing with both hands against Catra’s forearm, and flipped her helmet’s visor up so she could laugh at her more. Oppositely, Catra stopped in her tracks when she saw how prettily discomposed Glimmer was: her cheeks were bright red, her hair was plastered to her face (Catra made a note to get a more breathable helmet), and she couldn’t help but notice the way that Sparkles’s features scrunched when she got upset. Under the city lights, Glimmer’s eyes flashed with malevolence and twinkled with a challenge. Disconcerted, Catra lost her hold and was pushed back with her nape against the windscreen as her eyes widened. Glimmer laughed, victorious, until something, too, glued her to where she sat.

_What the shit._

All sounds seemed to get caught somewhere between her vocal cords and her tongue except for the ever-reliable, “Uh.”

Yet somehow, the weak conviction was enough to knock Glimmer out of whatever stupor she found herself in. She pulled back, lifting the helmet to wipe her face, and the two girls settled down, stiff and befuddled.

Just as Catra recalled the point of tonight’s excursion, both of them startled at the sound of a new voice breaking into their very civil… “situation”.

“Oh, hello, Glimmer! And, um, intimidating-and-incredibly-assertive music girl.” On the sidewalk next to Catra’s bike, a blonde woman wearing a flowing pink dress and a loosely-donned shawl waved at them. Her arm was linked with Mermista’s, a girl that Catra was well-acquainted with—in a _good_ way, for once.

“H-” Glimmer choked on her words. “H-hi, Perfuma!”

Catra nodded. In contrast, she recollected herself without breaking a sweat. She sat up less awkwardly now, focusing on the Indian girl. “‘Sup, Wormista?”

Mermista lazily pointed at her, her deadpan expression making Catra chuckle. “You’re _lucky_ we’re _cool,”_ she said in her usual monotonous, moderately disgusted delivery.

“What, um…” Perfuma, looking alarmed and apprehensive, leaned closer to Glimmer with a hand next to her mouth. Her next words were spoken in a stage whisper. “What are you doing with _her?”_

“Aw, Lil’ Hippie’s got a bone to pick with the Intimidating and Incredibly Something-Something Girl?” Catra grinned, leaning back on the handlebar. “Can’t I take my girl out in peace?”

“Your… girl.” Perfuma’s eyes were filled with such passionate distress that Catra had to give up the explanation to Glimmer.

“Catra was- she was just giving me a ride back home,” she stuttered. “I’m not, like, y’know, getting abducted… or anything.”

Catra couldn’t stop herself. “Not by me, at least.”

Perfuma gasped. Whether she was mortified by Catra’s words or Catra in general, the motorcyclist didn’t know.

“Chill,” Mermista said to Perfuma, using her now-free arm to place a hand on her hip. “They’re, like, an item or whatever now.”

The motorcyclists’ stiffening was out-emoted by Perfuma, who spun around to face Mermista so fast that her flora-adorned hair whipped Catra’s face. Mermista let out a slightly enthusiastic, “Ha-ha,” (which meant that she was in delirium) and Glimmer’s hands flew to the mouth of Catra’s helmet as she stifled a giggle. Vengefully, Catra carefully picked the flowers in Perfuma’s hair one-by-one while she was distracted.

 _“An item!”_ the blonde said, her whispering still counterproductive.

“Uh, yeah. Like. A thing.” She crossed her arms but held a palm out in a “duh?” gesture. “Together and stuff. You’re not thinking about IKEA again, are you? We’ve been _over_ this, Perfuma.”

Catra turned to Glimmer. “Is she always that stupid or just when I’m around?”

Glimmer pushed her lightly, her eyes shining in spite of her frown. “Shut _up,”_ she whispered.

She raised a brow and grinned at her. Just as Catra moved to swing a leg over her seat, Mermista grabbed a handle and stood on the tips of her toes, glaring daggers somewhere down the street.

 _“No._ There is _no_ way that’s-”

And in one smooth motion, a familiar blue convertible perfectly parallel parked in front of Catra’s motorcycle. The car dazzled so brightly, more so by being the only set of clean wheels amidst the campus vehicles, that even it’s “ADVNTRE” license plate sparkled. Where was all that light coming from? Even though Catra had to look away, she knew that at the driver’s seat was the one and only, belting out a Journey song.

“Evening, ladies!” Sea Hawk looked at everyone through his rear-view mirror, beaming. “Perfuma, Catra, the figure on the other side of Catra. Oh, the bike is _beautiful!_ She looks better than she did in her heyday, Catra!” Finally, he whirled around, enthusiastic. “Ah, _Mermista-!”_

 _“How._ Did you find me.”

“Might I say you’re a vision tonight?” He didn’t miss a beat. “Why, you’re glowing so brightly that I could spot you from a mile away!”

 _“Why_ is he here,” she demanded, her eyes dead as she looked to Perfuma for answers.

Perfuma clapped her hands, swaying in a way that prevented Catra from phase two of her scheme. “He said he’d pick us up after tonight’s poetry slam!”

“You go to _slam poetry?”_ Catra exclaimed. “Dude, _what?”_

Mermista reddened. “I’m _trying_ to be a supportive friend.”

“And you’re _very_ support-” Sea Hawk began.

“No.”

“You’re _very_ supportive, Mermista,” said Perfuma.

“Thanks.”

Sea Hawk pouted. The hood of his car began to rise as Journey played louder and he turned away. Catra could barely make out the sound of the doors unlocking.

 _Okay,_ not _the triangle I’m trying to get mixed up in right now,_ she decided, her eyes flicking from the girl’s and the tail of Sea Hawk’s car. She glanced around the temperamental road, mentally muting the conversation, and spotted a fast-approaching window after a silver sedan. Automatically, she kicked into high gear.

“Hey, hold these for me?” She didn’t give Glimmer time to answer.

 _“What the-”_ Glimmer sputtered as Catra tossed a couple of petals into her helmet, shut the visor, and whirled around in her seat. “You’re a terrible person!”

As Catra drove up to his window, she threw a particularly long-stemmed flower to Sea Hawk, somewhat bothered by his melancholy. When he looked at her and smiled, she said, “You're fine. Thanks for being around." Then, the sedan passed and they were out of there before Steve Perry could sing, _“Everybody wants a thrill!”_

Catra was _so_ getting a ticket tonight, but that was the last thing on her mind.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

It was quiet for a bit. The two girls were gliding through the thinning traffic at a calmer speed now, sobered by the dying adrenaline and their earlier plights. The campus was no longer streaks of light and dark and in-between but instead became focused and moulded into its own gentle beauty. It was almost peaceful.

 _Almost._ Catra tensed when Glimmer spoke up.

“Okay, you’re still terrible but that was… surprisingly sweet. I mean, it was a weird way to leave but it’s a… ‘you’ way to leave. Did you see his smile when you did that? We went really fast but it was super nice of you to-”

“Sparkles, seriously, take that thing off. I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” She could, though. She just… _desperately_ needed to say something else. Catra was used to fighting, not giving praise out-of-the-blue. Something petty was her first reaction.

“Is it safe to?”

“Look in the mirror so I can look at you like you’re stupid.” But Catra kept her eyes on the road. “I haven’t been wearing a helmet this whole time.” She was lying about the safety, but her mind was elsewhere—it just slipped out.

It was a damn good thing all the crosswalks made her slow down.

She felt Glimmer lean back, complying. For the next few streets, they were silent. Catra didn’t mind it at all, but she could tell Glimmer was bursting to be nosy and therefore she blatantly ignored her. If she didn’t acknowledge her, she’d back off—a tried and true method.

So, of course, Glimmer would persist. “Is it so weird to do something nice and get complimented for it?”

Catra didn’t mean to, but she twisted the throttle an inch towards her. “Straight to the point. Better than Adora. Your sociology professor like that about you or does she tell you to sit down and zip it?”

“It’s ‘he’ now, actually.”

“Oh,” she said, foot-in-mouth. “Well, does he?”

“Catra.”

Glimmer has said her name a million times before in a very, _“‘AL-VIN!’_ _screamed Dave,”_ sort of way. Catra didn’t know how to feel about her tone this time.

“Uh…” Catra furrowed her brows, not noticing _just_ missing a red light.

It was only when Glimmer squeezed her hand that Catra realized she reached down to grab one of Glimmer’s around Catra’s waist. She quickly pulled away, muttering some excuse about holding onto the clutch.

“You don’t have to…” Glimmer’s sentence trailed off. “It was cool. I know it’s not the kinda cool that you’re used to but-”

Catra bit her cheek, unable to muster even a bitter huff. She felt a blush crawling its way down her ears and onto her face and she only became more impassioned in her ire. Where was all this coming from?

“I mean-” Glimmer shrugged- “Bow’s cool, right? And he’s not exactly hardcore. Well, he is, but not in the way that’s-”

“Cold? Yeah.” She sighed loud enough to be heard over the low rumble of the engine. “I know.”

“I was gonna say 'laid-back'.”

Her apartment was less than a block away. Purposely now, Catra wrung her right hand back though she knew that no amount of speed could blur the conversation away. Unless, of course, Sparkles fell off.

“You’re allowed to be proud of-”

“It’s really none of your business,” Catra said. The heat was on her neck now, threatening to spill onto her shoulders. “I threw a flower. So? What’s the drama? Can’t believe you were the one calling me Shakespeare earlier, Glitterbomb.”

_Jeez, what kinda name-?_

“Sorry,” Glimmer said meekly. “Sea Hawk is a great guy, is all.”

Catra instantly relaxed at the change of topic. “Mm. He’s more than that. Imagine moving from a small town to a big city halfway 'cross the world totally on your own and still coming out swinging. That guy’s made of steel.”

Glimmer spoke with cheeky caution. “So… what’re you made out of?”

“Sugar, spice, ‘n’ everything nice. Isn't it obvious?”

Glimmer laughed softly, then Catra felt something poke her back. “You blush like _crazy.”_ She giggled as Catra jumped, swerving a little. “I can see you in your side mirrors, stupid. You _like_ getting complimented, don’t you?”

She went for a hard brake before the entrance of the housing and nearly threw Glimmer off her seat.

“Argh!” Glimmer grunted, mood downturned. “Just admit you’re egotistical, jeez!”

Catra glanced at her through the mirror. “The most self-absorbed, pompous egotist there is. I’d die without attention.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Glimmer tried to swing her leg over but kicked Catra instead. “Oops.”

“Ugh, _careful.”_

“I’m _trying!”_

“Not hard enough! Don’t-”

“Stop, just-”

“Here, wait-”

“No, I _got_ it!”

“You really don’t!”

After some struggle, they figured out that Catra had to get off before Glimmer could hop down.

“Wow, you should get a career in preschool ed. You can each 'em to put their shoes on before their socks,” Catra said, gently wiggling her motorbike back and forth as Glimmer tried to dismount. “Shit! What’s your problem?”

If Glimmer hit her any harder, Catra was sure she’d get a bruise. “You’re the one with the bike! You should know how this stuff works.” She gathered her bag and left Catra's helmet on the seat. "Thanks for the ride."

Catra was about to argue that she doesn’t ride tandem then, remembering Sea Hawk's vehicles are always prepared for a passenger, decided that it wouldn’t help her. Instead, she called, “What, no goodnight kiss?”

Illuminated by the yellowed lobby lights, Glimmer’s glare was as clear as day. Catra made kissing noises as she leaned against her bike and shaped her hands into a heart, dancing it around her chest. When Glimmer shook her head, exasperated, Catra stuck out her bottom lip and made the heart break in two. Then, as if it were retracing the steps of her earlier blush, her heart leapt into her throat.

Glimmer put her fingers to her lips and blew Catra a kiss.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

**adora the explorer**

**Yesterday** 11:18PM

Soryr i w

Wsa was drunjish weh nisent that

bad hangover?

Wort sinice The firstime

id ask u if huntra was just a drunk hallucination but i feel too bad about it

also the intern tht got stuck in the etheria bldng was kyle

WHAT

yea saw him cryign earlire n roge told me abt it

ithink lonnies gona sue

adora?

**Yesterday** 11:24PM

Laufh hurts

i know

u can leav me on read

get outta tht slump

❤️

i said leave me on raed dumb of ass

No

**Today** 1:56AM

I Want Girlfriend

**Today** 2:17AM

unmood

That’s bc you already have one

ur jokes arnt funny

Guess what

what

Guess

?

idk

We might go out again tonight

,

adora

ur not a heavy drinker

n even if u were ur not on vacation

I’m trying to keep up

Now youre being responsible? ☹️

dosnt matter

ur not gonna impress her like tht

😢

Give me women advice

ur liver cost over 500k

girls =/= 500k

Homophobia?

if u drink u will get diarhea u want hunt to see tht?

You’re… right

ya

**Today** 9:16PM

GLIMMER IS TELLING ME YOU FELL OFF YOUR BIKE??

🤡🤡🤡

where? did you learn 🤡?

It’s now your emoji on my phone😌

the kickstand was shitty n i leaned on it

its whatever

You didn’t make any typos so I’m…

Suspicious 🤨

**Today** 9:21PM

ya

Catra swore under her breath, staring at the ceiling. She had long discarded her phone underneath her pillow and was now meticulously picking under her short fingernails. She kept her hands busy, keeping her from thumping them against her head, the wall, or if she was feeling innovative, both.

So… okay. What happened?

One, Catra drove Sparkles home so Entrapta and Bow had nothing to juggle—easy enough. Two, Catra did something nice and, since that’s the first time Sparkles ever witnessed Catra acting civil, her bleeding heart jumped to praise and comfort—disgusting, but she knew where the girl was coming from (not that she shouldn’t learn to mind her own business). Three, Catra dropped her off and teased her—what’s new? She hasn’t missed a chance to make her uncomfortable, so that was in-character. But four… _that’s_ different. Did Glimmer snap or was Catra rubbing off on her?

Catra rubbed her forehead irritably, not knowing why of all nights it was this night that she couldn’t go out like a rock.

Her nightly, _“It’s your 10pm bedtime alarm!!!”_ alarm (courtesy of Scorpia) mutely hummed underneath her pillow, urging her to get a move on. Catra dismissed the alarm and the pure need to _move_ drove her to drag her pillow to the foot of her bed and rest on the opposite end. 

_Should get more pillows._

She lay with an arm under her head and looked up. Her phone blinked with a notification and the white of the ceiling stared judiciously back at her. She glared at it but, knowing she’d lose the contest, begrudgingly flipped onto her stomach and buried her face in the crook of her elbow.

“I’m skipping _everything_ tomorrow.”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

_(catractive): glimglimmerglimmest_ liked your post._


	8. “Not finished gawking at the masterpieces, I see.”

_“Ppt-! Fpt-_ gugh! _”_

Glimmer woke up spitting out crumpled flower petals for the next _two_ days. She swore they were coming out of _nowhere!_ It was just her luck having been able to spend a whole day without a glimpse of that _awful_ smirk but to be reminded of it, anyway, whenever she woke up. Last night, she guessed that they were hiding somewhere in her bed, so she slept on the couch—but no! They were just _haunting_ her and her alone!

“Rise and shine!” Bow sang, lifting a plate of eggs and bacon to get Glimmer to focus past her bleariness. “Still infested with petals?”

Glimmer resisted the scent of the good old-fashioned breakfast to pull her blanket over her head and sulk. As soon as a sweet aroma wafted over, though, _oh,_ she was done for. She resisted for maybe half a second before she peeked an eye out from beneath her cover.

“I knew it.” Bow was standing by her bedside holding a stack of french toast. He smiled proudly and spoke her name with a posh accent, “Would you do the honours, _Mizz Glimmah?”_

"You should know by now that imitating my mom is _not_ gonna get me out of bed." She rolled over. _"Especially_ not on a Saturday." Being stubborn was more important than a really tasty breakfast.

"Aw, but who could say no to that face?"

Gently, a bottle of syrup was tucked under Glimmer's thick blanket and into her arms. She frowned at her warmth being intruded upon but laughed when she got a good look at the bottle. On the plastic wrapping the lid, Bow had drawn on a cartoonish rendition of his own cheerful smile, sparkles glittering around his face. Sitting next to her, Real Bow mimicked Cartoon Bow, wink, thumbs-up, and all. He held the plate towards her.

With a flourish, Glimmer threw off her covers, unwrapped the new bottle of syrup (goodbye, little Cartoon Bow) and drowned the helpless breakfast in thick, saccharine syrup. Fueled by Bow’s _“Whoop!”_ she declared, “Let them eat toast!”

“I’ll _toast_ to that!” he said, lifting the plate higher as Glimmer raised her palms in sombre worship. She would’ve taken the opportunity to pluck one off the top of the stack but… she shouldn’t have put so much syrup.

Then again, the more the merrier, right?

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

Wrong! Wrong again! She had got to stop jinxing herself!

“What do you mean, ‘Scorpia’s inviting us out for a group activity’?” Glimmer was glad she put the last dish away or else she would’ve dropped it. “It’s ten in the morning! Who sets up a group activity at _ten in the morning!”_

Bow looked at her with an innocently blank look. “Scorpia?”

A petal fell from her hair and Glimmer was _this_ close to eating her fist. She pouted, glaring at the daylight pouring through the windows. “It’s a _Saturday_ morning,” she grumbled.

“Yes, and you _washed the dishes_ on a Saturday morning,” he said, totally astounded. “Why not take it a step further? C’mon, please? For me? _Pleeease?”_

_Don’t look at his puppy eyes, don’t look at his puppy eyes, don’tlookathispuppyey-_

She looked at his puppy eyes. And she couldn’t force herself to look away.

Glimmer held her breath, trying to summon every last ounce of willpower to refuse him but, when she exhaled, the opposite left her mouth. “What’re we doing?”

“YES!” He leaped high enough to touch the ceiling and then some, pumping his fist in the air.

“I didn’t say _y_ _es_ , I asked what we were doing!" But she was grinning, anyway.

“Scorpia says she wants to help with setup for a play that’s in one of BMU’s theaters. She thinks it's a tragedy that a student here wrote but she’s not really sure. ‘One of the actors is a good friend of Catra’s and mine, too, and we haven’t seen them in a while. TBH, I thought they got arrested and Catra thought they died but they’re back! I’m hoping it’ll get Catra out from her dorm.’” Bow frowned at his phone. “Oh, yeah. Is Catra okay? Neither of you were at dinner last night.”

“Huh? How should I-” For a moment, she wondered what Catra not showing up at the Hall had to do with her. _“...know. Oh._ I… I mean, _no_ , well, yes- uh, I… _tried_ to text her yesterday but… she was acting kinda moody? So I just… _gave her some space!_ So, I mean, yeah, how should I know? Ha-hah.”

Bow’s frown lifted by a fraction. “You’re not wor-?”

 _“Psh,_ ‘course not!” She waved a hand. “She probably just wanted to skip her classes yesterday.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially and Bow obliged, leaning in. “She’s been missing Adora a lot, so…”

Realization and sympathy overtook his expression. _“Oh,”_ he mouthed.

“Yeah.” Glimmer shrugged like, _“What can you do?”_

 _Seriously,_ what could she do?

“Shouldn’t you be with her, then?”

 _No, please, no._ God, _no._ She waved a hand, probably much too dramatically. _“Eh,_ personal space. We’re still kinda… figuring it out… _yanno…”_

“Yeah, I get it. I hope she feels better—I’ve been missing Adora, too…” He sniffed, looking as if Adora went off to war.

Glimmer cocked her head and grinned. “We talked to her just last night.”

“But her phone died before we got to say goodnight!” He pretended to wipe a tender tear from his cheek, gazing, brokenhearted, at the ceiling.

"She texted us when it recharged!" She set her hands on his shoulders, enthusiastically shaking him despite herself. “Are we gonna write a five-act tragedy or are we gonna help set one up?”

He grabbed her arms to hold her still and laughed. “So much for, _‘It’s a Saturday, groan!’”_

“Don’t make me take it back!” 

“Then let’s get ready!”

“Sure, you first.”

Bow gave her an odd look. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’m just gonna-” Glimmer waved her phone around, feeling her mouth twitch under her false smile. “Uh, check on Catra.”

“Oh, okay. Saturday, here we come!” He sang, _"Welcome to the_ _weekend!”_ as if he was in Guns N' Roses, pushing his chair back under the island more enthusiastically than anyone else could. The tune continued even as he shuffled into his room.

“Take your time!” _God. Breathe._ Glimmer did her signature burrito tuck as she lazed on the couch, opening up her texts with Catra, but didn’t move as she waited to hear Bow disappear into the bathroom. While he rummaged around his drawers, her fingers moved around the screen just shy of making contact as she tried to fake having a conversation (years of experience of feigning concentration in front of her mom assured her that she was at least _somewhat_ convincing). When she finally heard the bathroom lock click in place, she unrolled herself and heaved a sigh.

“Okay, okay.” She took a deep breath. The thought of finding out that she had to spend more time with Catra did nothing but trigger her fight-or-flight response. “It’s Catra, so she’s probably not gonna answer you.”

💙 **Catra** 💛

**Today** 10:12 AM

hey

No

_“'Ooh, it's Catra! She's probably not gonna answer you!'”_ she mocked herself.

💙 **Catra** 💛

**Today** 10:12 AM

What?

im not going

Thank GOD

Glimmer stared at her phone. _Well, that was easy._

And then, of course, more grey dots appeared at the bottom of her screen. Fantastic!

💙 **Catra** 💛

**Today** 10:13 AM

wow

keep tht up sparkls and i might jst break up w u

Oh no 😌😌

At that, she would’ve put her phone down and prepared her clothes. No Catra, no problem. But then, the ride two nights ago just _had_ to replay in her head, reminding her of when Catra unexpectedly softened up in front of _Glimmer,_ of all people. Her hand tingled from when Catra squeezed it but Glimmer dismissed it as pins and needles. Still, maybe she couldn’t help but develop a _teensy_ bit of compassion for Catra after knowing that there was something that wasn’t completely impossible not to hate about her.

Glimmer eyed the bathroom door. Bow had begun to sing along to music on his phone, so she had time. It wouldn’t kill her to check in on somebody she needs to learn to get along with. On the other hand, what if it did? What if the pure annoyance made her explode?

_Explode-_

The restlessness in Catra’s voice flashed in her head. _“Glitterbomb.”_

_Ugh, screw it. My phone plan’ll live._

💙 **Catra** 💛

**Today** 10:19 AM

Evrything ok?

To Glimmer's surprise, her message was read immediately but no response came. 

Okay, that last part wasn't very surprising. She was about to assume that Catra pulled a Catra and pointedly ignored Glimmer when the telltale grey dots popped up by the textbox. They bobbed for a while. She waited, but patience turned into foot-tapping turned into boredom turned into irritation.

 _She’s just messing with me,_ she thought, surprising herself by feeling a tinge of disappointment. She rubbed her face and kicked her legs over the side of her bed—then flopped right back. _Ugggh, Saturday morning group activity…_

Glimmer only realized that she’d fallen into a self-pitying trance when Bow was suddenly above her, prodding her belly.

“Hey, sleepyhead!”

 _“Hngk-_ Bow _-wuh!”_ She rolled over, squeezing a pillow against her stomach.

“Hey. If you really don’t want to go, you know I won’t make you.”

Muffled by her blankets, she hummed indecisively.

His voice perked up deliberately. “I know you want _alooone time_ with Catra, anywa- _oof!”_ Bow stumbled away, fumbling with the pillow-gone-projectile chucked into his face.

Glimmer didn't give him time to recover before she darted down the hallway and slammed the bathroom door out of playful but frenzied adrenaline, cackling. She turned the lock into place and went about her business but, as soon as she stepped out of the shower, she realized she forgot a minor detail.

 _Knock, knock, knock._ "Bow, I-"

"I've got it." Glimmer opened the door a crack to reveal a neatly folded stack of clothes. "Ta-da!"

Guilt stopped Glimmer like _Bohemian Rhapsody_ playing over the PA system (don't ask) would stop a quiet study hall, but she pushed it down and took her clothes in her hand. "You're the best."

Bow giggled from behind the door as it closed. Moments later, he piped up again, teasing, "So… you've been acting kinda different lately. Just these past few days. Not _that_ different…"

Glimmer's chest tightened. She caught her own eyes in the mirror, unable to share her fear with anyone else. "But…?"

"No buts!" He said it plainly, with an audible smile.

She narrowed her eyes. He said it _way_ too simply, _way_ too smiley. She wasn't sure if it would be her brightest idea to call him out, though. For the next few minutes, all that was heard was shuffling fabric as Glimmer fumbled through apprehension (and getting her weekday morning routine on a weekend, instead). Push her pockets in, pull the inverted sleeve out, fold up her jeans—was her fly down? Oh, jeez, she was taking so long so just _zip up already-_

Plastic crinkled from the other side of the door. "These roses sure are nice. Say… is a certain blue-and-hazel-eyed music major's constant presence in your mind _possibly_ the reas-?"

She threw the door open with a wall-rattling, heart-stopping, landlord-summoning _WHAM!_ and yanked Bow to the front door with her, causing him to drop the bouquet where he stood. “I’m ready! Let’s go!”

 _“Woah!_ Wait, my keys!”

“Race you there!”

“Oh, that’s just _rude!_ Oh, my God, Glimmer—you're not wearing _shoes!"_

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

"It's… _less_ than I thought it'd be."

Glimmer gazed up at the building as she walked beside Bow, glamorously unamazed. She was looking at a gray, L-shaped block with walls made up mostly of windows and thick overhangs, the first level doubling as a second outdoor floor. Shapes too complicated to conform to the L-shape description overlapped one another to create the building, but Glimmer assumed that the corner area was around where the theater itself was, being the only part of the building with three floors. Still, though it was grand, she couldn’t help but think that it was lacking.

Bow raised an eyebrow at her but his eyes were transfixed on the theater. “Really? It’s huge!”

“Yeah, but it’s-” She gestured lamely. “Like, it’s supposed to be our best theater, isn’t it?”

“Well… best _drama_ theater. I think the fan favourite is the big, old one in the south end. Why?”

“It’s the best _something,_ so I thought it’d look less… _bleugh.”_

They both stopped just before the bollards, watching as a few handfuls of people trickled in and out of the theater’s many entrances. Most of them appeared to be working on the set, looking hassled as they wheeled in carts of various equipment and materials from the trunks of heavy-duty trucks. A familiar green-haired guy hefted a stack of wooden planks on his shoulder and trudged carefully through the doors. Glimmer wasn’t sure if her eyes were deceiving her, but a pale, scrawny blonde seemed to be attached to one end of the planks, squealing.

Bow admitted, “I guess it could use some colour.”

Glimmer’s phone vibrated. She got a message from Catra saying that, “it could use some glitter, too.”

 _What?_ She narrowed her eyes, then confusedly looked around. People were still carrying things into the theater and passersby were, well, _passing by,_ but if Catra was there, she couldn’t see her…

Which wasn’t creepy at all.

 _“Awh!_ You have hearts around her name!” Bow squealed, looking over Glimmer’s shoulder. “Oh, my gosh! They match her eyes!”

“Bow-”

“No, no- I’m sorry, personal space, right.” He turned around with his hands over his eyes, dramatically taking deep breaths. “I’m calm and I’m cool about this, promise. I’m not overreacting or getting emotional because _you’re_ happy and _I’m_ happy and…”

She let him talk on. Temporarily, Glimmer forgot about Catra’s text amid Bow’s affection. She spread out her arms and, gladly, he took up the embrace and bent down to give her his gentle bear hug. Oh, Bow.

After a hot minute, he straightened and clasped his hands together. “Right. We’re here to set up the five-act play, not write it.” He cleared his throat, resolute. “Are you ready?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin, considering her approach. “A fair argument.”

She slapped his arm lightly, heading to the doors. “C’mon! Let’s get this _Saturday morning group activity_ over with already!”

“You say ‘Saturday morning group activity’ like it’s a bad thing!”

“And you say it as if it isn’t!”

Their banter carried them past the workers and into the lobby, and looking around, Glimmer took back _everything_ she said about the exterior. The floor was a smooth, dark tile whose reflective surface was _totally_ unexpected in comparison to the building’s cement walls. The ceiling was dotted with round lights twisting around in motley but consistent patterns and she took advantage of the daylight to admire them while the lights were off. But what caught her attention the most were, along the walls, the murals with art styles ranging from abstract to surrealism—and was that graffiti creeping through gaps between the art? _Wow._

Bow whistled. “And here we were, criticizing it! I hope you forgive us, O Mighty DiTillio Theater.” His hands hovered just above the surface of one of the paintings as if the beauty kept him from getting too close. “It’s amazing…”

“Isn’t it?” A honeyed voice chimed in from close behind and the two observers leapt apart.

“Woah, hello!” Bow waved, gently holding a hand to his chest. Glimmer gave the newcomer a greeting in an equally spooked fashion, tightly pulling her fists to her sides.

“Oh, pardon me,” the newcomer said, taking a step back and clasping their hands to their chest. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just couldn’t help but notice your attraction to the murals. Beautiful, aren’t they?”

Immediately, Bow warmed up to the stranger. “They are!” He gave them a winning smile, effortlessly slipping into a conversation.

Still a little detached, Glimmer only looked the stranger up and down. No wonder Bow felt so comfortable with them already: they were wearing a _mesh_ crop top. And, as if that weren’t enough, under that, they wore a camisole with a crisscrossed pattern on its sides. Their attire was all-black from their piercings to their tights and contrasted the platinum blonde of their impossibly silky grown-out undercut; Glimmer couldn’t help but wonder about their budget for hair care alone. If nothing else, their clothes told her that the stranger was _definitely_ on the anti-dress-code side back in high school.

She was thrown out of her stupor as bright green eyes fixed themselves on her. “Not finished gawking at the masterpieces, I see.” A tense moment passed and, just before Glimmer’s hands found themselves on the stranger’s throat, the stranger laughed, placing a delicate hand on their collarbone. “Oh, I’m just teasing! You freshmen are _adorable.”_ They emphasized the last word by air-tapping Glimmer and Bow’s noses in turn.

“I-I’m a sophomore,” she said, indignant but tongue-tied. _God,_ that sounded less dumb in her head.

“Mm, yes.” The tall newcomer tapped their chin and gazed around the room. “Now, what am I missing? Oh, of course: basic etiquette! Ahem. I-” They bowed elegantly- “am Double Trouble—‘DT’ for short—although I’m sure my reputation precedes me.”

Bow and Glimmer gave each other blank looks, shrugging.

He shook his head at DT. “No, sorry. Are you… one of the actors?”

“Am I- sorry-” they sputtered- _“‘One_ of the actors?’ My dear friend, I am _the_ actor! The artist of the hour!”

Still, the two blinked. None of it rang a bell.

DT groaned, dropping their arms and cradling their forehead. “Must I _say_ that I’m the lead? It’s so… _tame,”_ they said in a shuddering tone, waving a hand as if it would dismiss the memory of this conversation. DT shook their head and said to the two, “No worries, it’s always a treat to see the awe on faces in the audience when my quality stuns them.” When they noticed two people struggling to carry in a set of lights, they yelled over their shoulder, “Has anyone seen Scorpia? I need her muscle!”

“Oh, we’re with Scorpia, actually!” Bow said.

“Are you now?” DT raised a brow, an ambiguously genuine smile on their face. “Well, welcome to the crew, darlings! If you’re with Scorpia, I’m guessing you’re, mm, the muscle…?”

She wasn’t sure if they meant it but they gave Glimmer’s arms a skeptical look. She stifled a huff but, admittedly, she’d rather not do any heavy lifting, especially not from one floor to another. “What else do you need done?”

DT hummed. “Do either of you have experience with tech? Only one of the tech crew came on time today and though I adore her whimsicality and skill, she’s really only here to show the crew the ropes, and they left the poor darling on her own!”

“Oh, I’m in engineering!” Bow raised his hand, eyes sparkling.

“Perfect! Ah, and here’s the devil now!”

Across the corridor, Entrapta was skipping alongside…

Catra waved a lazy hand.

“And I see she has Entrapta with her, too.” DT grinned faux-clandestinely at Bow and Glimmer. “A little play on words for you two newsies. Oh, and another one, it seems!”

Once again, they gave them a blank look.

“...only if you’re into theatre, I suppose. Good morning, Entrapta! Thank you, again, for showing so bright and early.”

“What, I don’t get a, ‘Good morning, Catra’?” she complained.

“You’ll get your ‘good morning’ once you pick up the pace.” DT rapidly clapped their hands but Catra seemed to just slow down.

Entrapta waved her hand. “Oh, it’s not a problem! It’s _much_ easier to work with nobody crowding the room. And, trust me, it’s not that bright in the booth, anyway.” She snorted. “Catra can confirm it. Hello, Bow and Glimmer!”

“You’re familiar?” DT asked, having given up on Catra, who was vaulting over the concession stand.

“Yes, he’s my apprentice! Officially, now that I’ve finalized his papers!” She threw jazz hands towards Bow, grinning widely. _“Ta-da!”_

Glimmer applauded them as Bow cheered, “Hooray!”

DT perked up, somehow looking dulcet despite their obvious enthusiasm. “Oh, _fabulous!_ Then, can you get started?”

“Well, I don’t think I’ll be here for the whole show but-!”

“Right away!” Entrapta pulled Bow in the direction she came from, talking excitedly. “Now, I’ve only been here for about three hours but-”

 _“Three_ hours?”

“Yes! And there’s this kink in the sound system that I _need_ to upload into Emily’s ‘Sad Sounds’ file…” She and Bow walked off, her excited voice carrying down the hall.

“Ha! I love that girl. I _never_ know what she’s talking about! Now-” DT turned to Glimmer, assessing her more thoroughly.

She really hoped they didn’t have x-ray vision. If they did, though, she wouldn’t be surprised—they already gave off a sort of supernatural air.

“What to do with you?” They walked a slow circle around her, _really_ putting her off.

 _This_ was why she didn't do group activities on Saturday mornings.

“I’ll deal wif her.” Catra hopped onto the concession stand and swung her legs back around, dropping a piece or two of candy in the process.

DT’s eyes narrowed, staring around the hall as if in deep thought. Suddenly, realization overtook their expression. “Ah, that’s right. Well, deal away, lovebird.” They nodded to Glimmer, making their way to a nearby elevator.

 _'Lovebird'?_ Glimmer internally groaned.

“I shtill don’t hear a ‘good mo-ning’!”

They laughed at her remark as the doors opened for them. “And you suppose I don’t hear a rat shovelling candy into her mouth?”

“Ouch. You don’t get chilly wif being sho cold?”

“Oh, please,” DT said, “A hoe _never_ gets cold, darling.”

Glimmer burst out of her off-guard silence and into laughter. Just before the doors slid shut, she saw a hint of satisfaction whisper across DT’s face.

“Oh, my Go- _ougmph!”_ Catra hunched over, still sitting on the table, as her hands flew to her face. 

Glimmer gasped, half-disgusted and half-rhapsodic, still caught in her laughter. “Did you- did you _spit the candy out?”_

_“Mmrgh!”_

“Al- _snrk!_ _All_ of it?”

_“Shut up!”_

Glitter walked over to the stand, grabbing a few loose pieces of candy from Catra’s pocket and unwrapping one, inspecting it like a jeweller before curiously eating it. Her eyes widened. “Did you pay for this?”

Catra looked at her over her shoulder, taking a minute to scrutinize her. Glimmer felt herself tense up before Catra smirked and said, “Duh,” and turned back around.

Glimmer, her stiffness dissipating, was somewhat disappointed, then tempted to steal candy because of it. Unfortunately, before she could act on anything, Catra flicked Glimmer’s forehead and jerked her chin to the side.

“Ow!”

“C’mon, Sparkles. Let me show you something.”

She rubbed her forehead and grit her teeth. “A simple, ‘Hey, let’s go,’ would’ve been _fine.”_

Catra flicked Glimmer’s forehead again. “Hey, let’s go.”

Glimmer followed her, anyway, but only in pursuit of Catra, who bolted at the look Glimmer gave her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to the lovely people who left kudos during my hiatus and would still read and comment despite my absence! i love you all!
> 
> this chapter was actually intended to be longer but i realized that i went a couple hundred words over my usual limit. since it's been a while since i've last updated, i thought it would be better to wrap up the chapter and cut the wait. thanks for reading!


	9. Glimmer held the mic to Catra but she pushed it away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to give a sincere apology to everyone who reread the whole fic when I uploaded chapter 8 because it had been a while since I published anything. I hope you know I'm rooting for you guys—fingers crossed you remember enough!!!!
> 
> Thank you to all of you! Despite how Glitra continues to be a rarepair and there's a huge time gap between each update, you all continue to keep this fic alive through views, comments, and kudos. Y'all are the best!
> 
> Last thing before I let you guys read this update: I hope you're all doing well during this pandemic. For me, online schooling has been a struggle but nothing impossible and I've been able to take this time to reconnect with loved ones and invest in other stay-at-home hobbies that I haven't been able to give much love in the past few years; however, I know I'm one of the luckiest people at this time. My heart goes out to everyone doing their part to the best of their abilities and whoever is struggling to make it through each day. We'll see it through the end of this.

“It’s _so_ easy to wind you up, Sparkles.”

Catra had led Glimmer down labyrinthine corridors, not sure what else to do other than keep Glimmer busy. From Sparkles's expression when she texted her and when she saw Catra walking around with Entrapta, she could have only guessed at what kind of weird questions the girl would ask her given the chance to; "Why are you here?" or, "How are you?" or—God, have mercy—she just looks at her with a question on her face until Catra gets irritated and acknowledges it.

Glimmer probably forgot all of that, though, as she gripped the collar of Catra’s shirt with tight fists, practically snarling as they stood nose-to-nose.

Catra, of course, was unbothered. It was just another Saturday morning group activity, really.

Glimmer growled. “I’m gonna-”

“Listen, if you’re so scared of heights, you can just say so.” Catra cocked her head, pointedly glancing down to the theater below them: all of the lights were off with only the spotlights winking at them, remotely tested by Entrapta and Bow. If anyone could see the two quarrelling on the catwalk, they didn’t say anything.

Glimmer scowled at her. Catra noticed how the switching lights reflected in her eyes and cast on her face, but the moment flickered away quicker than the spotlights. A tentative half-second passed where Catra really believed that she was in for it, but after a grumble, Glimmer pushed her back and muttered, “Whatever.”

Catra stared at her for a second. She grinned viciously. “Oh, so it’s the dark, then?”

In the brief time that all the lights shut off, Glimmer had brought her hands up again with her fingers strained in curled positions. All she did, though, was sigh and drop her arms.

“Hm. Impressive.”

Glimmer crossed her arms. “I’d do it if I wasn’t the last person seen with you.”

“That’s sweet, babe.” Catra tensed, ready for another charge, but all Glimmer did was give her a bitter, thin-lipped smile. Catra feigned being lovestruck. “Wow, I could kiss you right about now.”

All she caught of Glimmer’s expression was a slight alarm as the lights turned off for good. She guessed that she only imagined a faint blush when someone yelled, “House lights!” and the whole auditorium lit up, revealing the usual glare that Glimmer wore.

“Hey, everything alright up there?” Below, one of the crew members shouted up to them from between the aisles.

“All good, just passing through!” Catra called back, and the person below raised a thumbs-up. Catra strode to the other end of the catwalk and, taking her gloves off, slid down the ladder, not checking to see if Glimmer followed. From the sound of Glimmer yelling, “Whoa!” though, she figured she was right behind her.

“How’d you do that?” Glimmer asked.

Catra took a glove out from between her teeth, pulling it back on. “Dju whah?”

“Slide down?” She sounded incredulous but enthralled.

“I-” she started.

“Hold on, catch me if I fall!” Without another warning, the girl climbed down a few rungs and mimicked Catra’s position.

“Wai’, you shouldn-” Quickly, Catra dashed forward, but Glimmer caught herself before she fell. “Christ!”

The rest of the way down the ladder, Glimmer was laughing. “Aw, you _do_ care!”

Catra stared at her disbelievingly. She ignored her comment, ripping her second glove out of her mouth to verbally give Glimmer what-for. “Are you kidding me? You didn’t even know if I was gonna catch you!”

Glimmer shrugged a shoulder and smiled. “If I fell off, I could probably sue and pay you with that money, instead. Besides-” she patted her cheek, eyes glittering impishly- “you’ll always catch me, won’t you, babe?”

Catra froze in place and gawked at Glimmer as she walked off, tardily realizing that she was staring. She dropped her arm and rushed to catch up with her, floundering with her last glove. “You don’t know where you’re going.”

"There's, like, _one_ hallway."

It was Catra's turn to glare at her. "You ever heard of a T-junction or are you so small the DMV didn't even let you _try_ for a learner's?"

Glimmer snatched another piece of candy from Catra’s pocket. “There’s one giant room, some stairs, and…” Glimmer peered around, tapping a finger in the direction of a few entryways. “...two? Doors that actually lead out of here and one of them’s a fire exit. It’s not that hard.”

Surrounding them in the all-black room was a myriad of tech equipment organized into its own personal chaos; here and there lay a few unused props, too. Stairs leading down to what Catra knew as the tech crew’s hidey-hole dug into the floor on the same wall as the ladder to the catwalk, the distance between them obstructed by various stage lights and a single, dusty-looking spotlight.

“Hey, Entrapta and Bow should be in there,” Catra said, ignoring Glimmer. “If you can get past all that junk alive, you’re immediately initiated into the booth team here.”

Glimmer stood on the tips of her toes, then crouched down to look between spaces in the clutter to steal a peek at the door. “How did they even get in there?”

“Dunno.” She shrugged. “Well, see you, then.”

 _That’s the end of that,_ Catra thought, making her way to the door. She meant to get rid of Glimmer’s company with other work but if her friends could catch her attention, Catra saw no difference to it. She firmly fastened her gloves, wanting to keep her hands busy.

“Hm? Where’re you going?” Catra looked back and saw only Glimmer’s forehead and fluffy hair poking out from behind the outdated spotlight.

She wished she had a better remark. “Why’re you asking?”

Glimmer untangled herself from the chaos, nearly knocking down stacked lights connected to a cable, and caught up to the other girl. “I don’t know, just…” She shrugged a shoulder and cocked her head to the side. “This volunteering thing is like team bonding stuff for you and the other guys, right? You can’t team bond without a team.”

The look Catra gave her was millimetres from an icy glare. “I didn’t choose you for my team.”

 _“Eehhh…”_ Glimmer rocked her hand back and forth. “You kinda _did_ choose me when you told DT you’d _‘deal with me’_.”

“I meant, like, discreetly getting rid of your body.”

 _“Ooh,_ slow it down, MCR.” She latched onto Catra’s arm, surprising her. “I did, _however,_ choose you-”

 _More_ surprisingly, Catra didn’t pull away. Instead, she raised her free hand and cut her off. “Last choice.”

 _“Still_ a choice.” Glimmer smiled at her, her arrogance at knowing she won radiating off of her. She high-fived Catra’s open palm. “So?” she said.

“Ugh, cooties.” She hid her sudden timidness by unhooking her arm from Glimmer’s and planting that hand in her face to push her away. “Fine. But that’s the last time I humour a politician’s kid.” She shoved her hands in her pockets and felt around but… “Hey, did you take the last candy?”

Glimmer looked offended. “I hug you once and suddenly I’m a thief?”

“You’re holding the wrapper!”

“From the other candies!”

“That’s such a- _hey,_ where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Glimmer took off. The only thing that kept Catra from getting to her before she left the room were the double doors slammed in her face. Holding her cheek, she kicked the doors open and almost immediately blocked Glimmer’s path.

“Agh-!” Glimmer halted in her tracks, playful until her eyes widened. _“Fuck!_ Catra, are you…?”

Catra stopped short, confused, before realizing what she was staring at. Grinning inwardly, Catra slouched and drew in the corners of her brows, finishing the pitiful and upset act with a withdrawn pout. “N- uh, nah, it’s g-”

“God, _no,_ I’m sorry- here, uh.” She reached out but stopped shy of her wrist. “Can I look? Did it bruise?”

Catra mumbled weakly before slowly peeling her hand from her face. It was a hard-fought battle, but she managed to suppress a grin at Glimmer’s concern.

Suddenly, Glimmer gasped. “Holy _shit!_ Catra, can you feel anything right now? We gotta get you help!”

“What?” Catra frowned, bemused.

“Your _face!”_ Glimmer gestured wildly at her. “It’s the most _hideous_ thing I’ve ever seen!”

They stared at each other for a beat until Glimmer dissolved into laughter and Catra had to stop herself from doing the same. Catra stood for a while, her fist closed loosely over her mouth, as Glimmer eventually melted to the floor, guffawing. She considered leaving her there, but another part of her hated to ruin Glimmer’s fun, so instead, she satisfied her vindictive side by noting how dirty the floor was.

She squatted in the middle of the beige hallway and propped her chin on her palm. “Just a few days ago, you were calling _me_ the nightmare,” Catra said.

“Yup!” she giggled. “And just a few days ago, _you_ were the one laughing at _me!”_

“So, in other words,” she said matter-of-factly, “‘Suck it, Catra.’”

 _“Mm,”_ Glimmer hummed, her grin audible. “Exactly.”

Catra shook her head and stood, taking one last moment to melodramatically rub her face. “Alright, fine. If you’re not gonna leave me alone, let’s at least help out like we came here to do. Also, the tiles here are nasty.”

Glimmer shot up, appearing high-strung from the tardy admonition. The humoured tears in her eyes turned into ones of denial. “You just let me roll around on the floor like that?”

She snickered. “Sorry, Sparkles, I thought you’d know better. Good thing is, we’re going to the costume storage, so you can change out of your clothes if you’re that bothered.”

Glimmer huffed then began to stalk off, face scrunched in a way that made Catra snort.

“Wrong way, Sparkles.”

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

Glimmer followed Catra to the costumes, multitasking between grumbling about gross shoes but also poking fun at Catra’s misstep. By the time they got there, Glimmer was on the subject of entertaining herself at Catra’s expense, so of course, she said:

"When most people have been out of the closet for as long as you have-" Glimmer smirked- "they usually don't go back in."

Catra started weeding out empty hangers in the jacket section, tossing them at Glimmer in retaliation. “Help me get this place organized and _maybe_ I'll grace you with a satisfying reaction."

Glimmer pouted but Catra didn’t have to tell her twice before she dragged her feet in. She began to clean up the racks for short-sleeved tops, mimicking Catra, and for a good few minutes, Catra could pretend the remainder of the hour would go smoothly. The shuffling of hangers and clothes was rhythmic with only Glimmer’s occasional question to interrupt it, and even that calmed down eventually.

Catra was whistling her most recent piece when Glimmer popped up, wearing two wigs, a choker, and a pair of net sleeves. A black toque on her head firmly kept two wigs, one black and the other silvery-white, in place and a silver chain hung from her neck. As she raised a fake mic to her mouth, Catra saw that studded leather bracelets wrapped around her wrists.

“WAKE ME UP INSI-! _Wake me up!_ WAKE ME UP INS-! _I can’t wake up!_ WAKE ME UP INSIDE! _SAVE ME!”_ Glimmer held the mic to Catra but she pushed it away. “Call my name and save me-”

“From this _freakin’_ nightmare.”

_“FROM THE DARK!”_

Catra turned around so Glimmer couldn’t see her biting down a smile. She flicked through more jackets but her focus was still on Glimmer bidding her blood to run.

“I’ve been living a _lie!”_

Momentarily, she was able to tune her out. “A winter coat? What’re you doing in here?” She tossed it to the I-can’t-process-this-right-now pile.

“Without your lo-o-ove, darlin’! _OHH-_ NLY YOU…!”

Catra let a laugh escape out of her mouth as a growl. “Can we _please_ get a song change?”

“We’re no strangers to lo-”

“That does _not_ match your outfit.” She spared a glance over her shoulder and saw Glimmer peeking at her through the clothes, wigs still intact.

“Hey, you’re already wearing half the look for me with those-” She pushed the clothes to clear a window- “fingerless gloves and a leather jacket. Like, those are Docs on your feet right now!”

“Wanna know something?” Catra turned to her with a friendly smile on her face.

Glimmer’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“I’m not wearing socks.”

She gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. “You’re _disgusting!”_

Catra leaned forward and through the clothes rack, making Glimmer angle herself away. She dropped her voice to a low, personal murmur and Glimmer’s eyes flicked down. _“Hey,”_ she whispered urgently, gesturing with a finger for Glimmer to move closer. “C’mere.”

Glimmer gave her a poisonously skeptical look. She stepped away.

“Seriously, _c’mon.”_

She came up to Catra, still tense, and her eyes narrowed further. “What?”

_“Bitch.”_

_“Fucking-!”_

Catra felt the wind of a flying shirt go past her head as she ducked. _Oh, shoot!_

She sprinted down a few thick rows of clothes, knowing (from experience) that after one swing, Glimmer wouldn’t try to get her again. Not after just a “Bitch,” anyway.

“Okay, okay! Back to work, Sparkles!”

“I don’t want to work! No one _understands_ me!”

Catra rolled her eyes but, soon enough, she’d begun several new piles of clothes, most of which needed washing. What few articles were nearly pristine, however, Catra put on. About ten piles and three racks later, Catra had assembled her own funky little outfit.

“Oh. My God.”

At the sound of Glimmer’s voice, Catra whirled to face her, swishing her purple cape around and tossing her feather boa back. Glimmer had taken off her earlier outfit, now back in her pastel varsity jacket and denim shorts. She stood at the end of the row, gaping.

Catra adjusted the hair visor she wore on her head, her pink-and-green glasses inching down her nose at her movements. “Afternoon, miss.”

She shook her head. “Okay, how come _you’re_ allowed to wear weird stuff but _I’m_ not?” Glimmer spoke through her fingers, fighting a grin.

“I never said you weren’t allowed to, I just asked for a song change,” she reasoned. Catra looked over the rim of her glasses, raising her eyebrows. “Duh.”

Glimmer assessed her for a moment, so Catra struck a pose. She crossed one arm over her chest and used it to prop up her elbow, curling her hand into a loose fist and pretending to inspect her nails. “Take a photo, dah-lin'. It’ll last longer,” she said in her too-subtle posh accent.

Glimmer snickered. “Don’t worry about that. You should wear that to the wedding.”

“Oh, I was _just_ thinking the same thing, dah-lin'. I think I’d turn heads, that’s for sure.”

She pressed her hands into the sides of her head, distressed but intent. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

 _“Do_ cry, dah-lin'. I so _love_ it when you’re in anguish.”

Glimmer rubbed her face, turning away. “Okay, I’m finishing up what I started but I’m _leaving_ after. If I stay locked up here with you for too long, I’m gonna lose it.”

Catra laughed, admittedly delighted with herself... and somewhat reluctant to part with her outfit so soon. Still, she turned her back to Glimmer, facing the hangers to put the clothes back up as she took them off. As she dropped the glasses into a bucket, though, she realized it was probably best to get the cape and boa cleaned; she tossed them into the miscellaneous pile.

 _I'll come back for_ _you,_ she promised them.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

“I don’t think the staff’ll kill us if we leave it like this.”

She and Glimmer stood before several baskets, piles, and racks of clothes, all of different washing priorities and with various non-specific subcategories. It had been about two or three hours since they began, yet there was still about a third of the room left unsorted.

Could you blame them? They weren’t Adora. It was only thanks to the fact that they _barely_ managed to get along that they got this far.

“I hope not, ‘cause I’m _starving.”_ As if to prove her point, Glimmer’s stomach rumbled. She pouted, hands on her belly.

Catra smirked. Although she took the rumbling in stride, Catra noticed the faint embarrassed blush on her cheeks. “Yeah, me, too,” she said. “Though not as loudly as you.”

The blush reached her ears now, but she only grumbled.

Catra snorted and patted her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s see if the others are done. We can grab lunch with them.”

She led the way down the hall, content with what she got done today. None of it would bank up to either degree but that didn’t matter so much. _Maybe_ Scorpia had a point.

Maybe.

“Hey, Catra?”

She tilted her head but kept her eyes in front of her. “Hm?”

“This is weird but-” Catra raised her eyebrows and looked at Glimmer, who curiously peered at her back- “where’d you get your jacket?”

“Huh? Oh.” She fiddled with a silver button on the lapel. “Won it in a fight.”

She huffed. “No, really.”

“Yeah?” she said, confused. She turned on her heel and walked backwards, hands in her pockets. “You know Tung?”

Glimmer thought for a second. “Lashor? Isn’t he the president of IKTK?”

“Mm. I pissed him off about two years ago, so…”

“Two years ago? Weren’t you halfway across the country two years ago?”

 _“Ehh…”_ She rocked her hand back and forth. “One and a half-ish. Time's not real.”

“One and a…” Glimmer did the calculations in her head and gasped. “You pissed off _Tung_ in your _first year?_ How are you alive right now? Unless…” She prodded her. Catra slapped her hand away. “Nope, not a ghost.”

“Shut up, Sparkles,” she said, just to see her smile in satisfaction. “But yeah. He got me meeting him at this roughed-up, empty block at, like, six PM just to throw down. Isn’t that overdoing it? He arranged a time and picked the most rickety, stereotypically run-down looking place on Earth. And, get this-” she faced forward again, slowing down to match paces with Glimmer- “he brought a _whip_ and everything.”

“A _whip?”_ Glimmer’s brows furrowed as she obviously fought against her morals and how cool a whip was. “This is starting to sound illegal.”

“Since when have you cared about being legal?” Catra pushed open the double doors into the tech storage and flicked the lights on. “Looks like they left already. Mm—and it probably would’ve been illegal if he used it. I think he was just trying to scare me, but he didn’t even crack the thing. What, am I supposed to look at a rope and quake in my shoes?”

“Oh, no, not the _Docs!”_

“It’s fine— _they’re faux,”_ she said in a low whisper. “Anyway, I totally made him bite the dust. It helped that Scorpia was there. You know, that’s the _one_ time I saw her look that scary. Like, the one thing keeping her from looking downright evil is that huge smile on her face.” She rested a hand on the ladder, gesturing for Glimmer to go first.

“Scorpia—evil? Are you pulling my leg?”

Catra pulled her leg. Literally.

_“You-!”_

“Whoops.” She climbed up after her, shutting the lights off when she reached the top. “I swear, she heard a guy wanted to stuff and mount my head on his wall just so he can prove that he’s got testosterone and-” she sucked a breath in through her teeth- _“yikes._ I guess somebody snitched to Huntara though, ‘cause she made me and Scorps honorary IKTKs for what we did.”

“For beating up her vice-prez,” Glimmer said, dubious.

She shrugged. “She never really liked him, anyway. Plus, he started the fight because I did the frat a favour and somebody started joking that I did more in my first year than he did in his three. It was _definitely_ stupid, but I got a _sweet_ jacket out of it, so.”

Glimmer eyed her, though more invested than cynical. “I’m gonna have to check in with Scorpia for the facts.”

“What, don’t believe me, babe?”

“Of course not!” Glimmer reassured. She looked over the rails at the lit-up house below them. “Wait, isn’t that the one where Adora was like, the getaway driver or something?”

Catra hummed, surprised that she knew. She spoke a little quieter, seeing people milling about below them. “Yeah. How did…?”

“She complained that nobody noticed her because she was in the car the whole time—I think she said even you guys forgot her for a bit. Uhm… she… she also told Bow ‘n’ me about it the day Scorpia went up to her. We… didn’t want her to go,” Glimmer admitted, something regretful in her voice. The two of them gradually slowed to a stop.

 _‘Cause I was still a bitch,_ Catra knew. It wouldn’t have made sense to them why Adora wanted to help. She idly watched a bug skitter across the railing, not noticing that they fell silent until Glimmer spoke up.

“But…” She cleared her throat, hands braced on the rails behind her. “I’m glad she did. I think that’s when you two started to really talk again.” There was something soft in the way she looked at Catra.

It made her uncomfortable. She pushed down whatever feeling was rising in her chest and bored her eyes into the stage. “Yeah.”

 _Get your nose out of my business,_ she thought with little fire.

She felt Glimmer’s eyes on her for an eternity longer before she suddenly shouted, “HEY! Bow! Entrapta!”

Catra startled, then jumped a second time when Glimmer grabbed her wrist.

“Come on, they’re there!”

“H- woah, hey! Slow _down,_ you’re rocking the whole thing, Sparkles!”

She was just thankful there wasn’t another ladder for Glimmer to slide down at the end of the catwalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you dont know exactly what a hair visor looks like, im begging you to look it up
> 
> take care, everyone!


	10. "This is your fault."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> noelle answered 15 fan questions a few weeks ago. did i get any of the college majors right? not really! do i have the power to suddenly make pottery classes available somewhere on campus or in the city? you can bet your homosexuality on it babey!!!!

“We… we didn’t want her to go.” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. The easiest conversation she’d ever had with Catra was immediately smothered with silence and she almost wished they were back to not getting along at all. Glimmer's eyes widened marginally and she tried to sneak a glance behind her.

Catra had stopped walking, her eyes drifting away from Glimmer as the usual infuriatingly sly glint drained from them. Nervously, she watched her stoic expression harden with a clench of her jaw—the only indication that she was more bothered than lost in thought.

Glimmer gripped tightly onto the railing— _anything_ to keep her hands from fidgeting. _Nice going, Glimmer! As if she didn’t hate you enough before!_

She imagined more exclamation points than would be grammatically correct.

“Sparkles?”

She snapped back into the present, feeling Catra rub the back of her finger between her brows. She had opened the visor to the borrowed helmet that Glimmer wore, having sat backwards on her motorbike—legs crisscrossed like only Catra’s unique type of weirdo would—to face her.

Catra snickered. “What’s with the frown? It's an IHOP; it can't be that far off from your five-year-old tastes." She gestured to Glimmer’s jacket, which had sparkly lettering embroidered on its left breast.

Glimmer blinked and she realized that she was glaring at the IHOP sign. "Oh, uh."

After the assembly that the directors called at the theater, Bow suggested that they all grab lunch together. DT immediately chimed in with a fancy restaurant that Glimmer once attended for one of her mom's political affairs when she was younger; she commented that the food _really_ wasn’t worth the price and whatever good standing she had with DT had evaporated. Before DT could slap her with a white silk glove, however, Catra stepped between them and offered up an IHOP, saying the family-friendly restaurant came with a parking lot that could double as a duelling grounds if ever needed. Glimmer was confused into agreeing but DT was knowingly willing when they sighed and nodded their head.

"Trouble in paradise, lovebirds?" The actor in question passed by with the rest of the carpoolers, wearing that honeyed expression again.

Glimmer was beginning to think that that was their resting face.

"Paradise? Pretty sure they paved it down to put up this parking lot."

DT's face soured and their pace to the door quickened, but Bow shot finger guns at Catra, who gladly returned them—yet, somehow, she still managed to look disappointed in herself.

"Oh, I _hate_ that reference, but my dad would love it," Glimmer said, conflicted.

Catra hummed. She swung her leg over her bike and stood, learning from last time, and nudged the kickstand into place. "Outta curiosity, not that I'd ever wanna spend any more _damn_ time with you-"

"Gee, thanks." Glimmer tried to knee Catra before hopping off. She missed.

"Don't mention it. But does your dad know anything yet?"

"Huh?"

"Like, with us da-" Catra pretended to gag. "That we're dati- dat- ugh… g-girlf-" She clamped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, God, I can't say it."

From inside, Bow stared with a question in his eyes as they hovered before the glass doors, so Glimmer finally pushed them open. As Bow, DT, and Entrapta busied themselves with following the hostess, Glimmer replied, “No. He’s on a business trip and my mom wanted me to tell him in person.” She was familiar with her queasiness now: it was the same thing she felt whenever she lied to Bow about Catra.

As they trailed behind the other three, it didn’t seem like Catra noticed Glimmer’s sudden guilt—though, knowing her, she probably _did_ and was just too disaffected to comment on it. Wordlessly, Catra let Glimmer take the adjacent spot in the booth, sitting across from her in a chair that she claimed with her jacket, revealing that she wore a tank top underneath.

“Here are your menus,” said the hostess. “Someone will be here to take your orders shortly.”

A round of thank-yous went though the table as they dispersed the menus amongst themselves. Beside Glimmer, Entrapta rocked herself so enthusiastically that she would brush her leg now and again; Glimmer had a _sneaking suspicion,_ though, that Catra’s nudges were less accidental. She frowned at her from across the table.

“An all-day breakfast…” DT observed as Bow handed them a menu. “So pedestrian, yet so alluringly _wrong.”_ They tapped a finger to their lips, entranced in the breakfast selections.

“Ah, you’d love Denny’s!” Entrapta said. “I have _never_ ordered sustenance at a more godless restaurant!”

Their eyebrows arched up. On any other person's face, their expression would have looked sarcastic; as this was DT, however, it displayed genuine, almost eager (if Glimmer didn’t know any better), interest. “That sounds delightful! You _must_ take me sometime.”

Bow hummed. “You’ve really never been to an IHOP or Denny’s before?” He was sitting across from Entrapta and beside DT on one of the chairs.

 _“Oh,_ I’ve been.” DT took in a shaky breath. “I just tend to block out those sort of… mm, _expeditions._ I was new to the city and so I-” They coughed awkwardly, tugging at their collar- “quite, erm, _foolishly_ —thought it was safe to go alone. But, woe, it wasn't."

Before either Bow or Glimmer could ask them to elaborate, a blonde freckled waiter found their table, notepad and customer service smile at the ready. He stopped at Glimmer and Catra’s end, tired but somehow still friendly even in the midst of the lunch rush. “Afternoon, guys! I can get you your drinks—o-or your meals if you’re ready.”

“Oh! I’d like some Mountain Dew, please!” Entrapta's voice was muffled, her nose buried in the menu.

Glimmer did a double-take. Without her noticing, Entrapta had somehow gotten her hands on a kids’ menu. Why she needed to look at a single piece of paper so closely, only Entrapta's mainframe would know.

The waiter nodded. “Mount’n Dew.”

“I’ll have a splashberry, please,” Bow said.

When the waiter turned to Glimmer, she ordered, “Tropical twist, please!”

He hummed to himself. “Two splashers in a row. And- o-oh, Catra?”

“Took you long enough.” She smirked. “Just milk, Kyle.”

The waiter—Kyle—buffered for a moment before nodding. “Okay, and-”

“One of your original iced coffees,” DT said. “Er, _'please.'”_

“Original iced…” Kyle muttered, scribbling their orders down. “Alright, anything else I can get you guys?”

A few shrugs and quiet no’s went around, but Catra spoke up before the waiter pocketed his notepad.

“Actually…” Catra beckoned him closer, whispering in his ear. Right before he pulled back, he stole a quick glance at Glimmer, then looked hurriedly away.

“Okay, well, um, so we had-” Standing up straight, Kyle repeated their orders back to them and, one by one, they all affirmed. “Okay, cool! I’ll get back to you guys.”

“What was _that?”_ Glimmer said after he’d gone.

“Hm? What, a girl can’t have her two-percent milk in peace?” Catra smiled at her over her menu.

"That was disgusting, actually, but I'm talking about that weird whispering you were doing!"

"Nothing you gotta worry about, Sparkles." Her eyes went back down to her order but the smile never left her face. By some miracle, Glimmer resisted kicking her underneath the table.

Soon enough, Kyle returned with their drinks on a tray, ready for another go at their orders. They each requested their food with little hitch (Kyle eventually succumbed to Entrapta's orders from the kids' meals). Dreadfully, as the appetizers came in, Catra held up a mozzarella stick to Glimmer's mouth. She gave her a dead look but, _ooh,_ mozzarella sticks were too good and she gave in. The only downside was that Catra got a laugh when Glimmer struggled to bite off the melted cheese.

Bow swallowed a bite of an onion ring, toasting a secondary one with Entrapta. "I forgot to ask—where's Scorpia? She invited Glimmer and me to come today but I didn't see her at all."

"Mm, yes, she texted me a few hours ago saying she was feeling a little under the weather." DT took a knife and unsurely cut off a piece of a mozzarella stick, watching as the cheese stuck to the sides of the knife. "Poor thing. And she would've been so helpful today, too."

Out of the blue, Catra slapped her forehead. "Ugh, I can't believe I fell for it."

"Fell for what?" Bow leaned forward to look at Catra, DT either not noticing or not caring that they were in the way.

"She wanted me to get out of my dorm today but she didn't even tell me she was sick—her plan to draw me out went straight to using _Sparkles_ as _bait."_ Catra slouched her face into her arms, which were crossed flat on the table. "And it _worked."_

Glimmer fought shy of making eye contact with her friends. It was just embarrassment, of course.

“You see this?” DT gestured with a cut of mozzarella stick on their fork as if they were lecturing Bow and Entrapta. _“This_ is why I never date. It’s how people become a liability!”

Entrapta nodded. "Yes, I've noticed that romance—or, at the very least—strong feelings for someone or something pretty much guarantees them as a vulnerable point!"

DT shook their head, their hair flowing with the movement. "See? Even the statistics agree!"

"I don't know, I think it's cute!" Bow said.

"That seems to be the typical reaction with couples who don't overdo public displays of affection!" Entrapta confirmed.

DT groaned gracefully—if that was even possible—and rubbed their temple. With their free hand, they held their cold drink against their forehead, ice sloshing inside the cup.

"Statistics. Boom!" Bow gestured playfully at Entrapta, catching Glimmer's eye to give her a smile.

Glimmer returned it, albeit timidly, and promptly tugged the open back of Catra's glove. "This is your fault," she muttered to her, begrudgingly feeding her back.

Catra only grinned her self-satisfied grin as she chewed. Her sixth sense (which was sadly attuned to Catra’s gremlin-like levels of mischief) gave her a dreadful feeling that it wasn't over yet.

Kyle served Entrapta and DT first, the two having ordered breakfast meals. Since Kyle dropped two kiddie plates in front of Entrapta, Catra deemed it as a green light for her to snag a strip of bacon while Entrapta busied herself with dipping one of ten small pancakes into syrup. Whether or not she noticed Catra, Entrapta seemed perfectly content with her fist-size pancakes.

When Catra gave DT the same look, they said, "Don't even _think_ about it, kitten."

The remaining three soon received their food, though Glimmer got hers first and had to slap Catra’s hand away when she got too close. Still, even after Catra’s fish ‘n’ chips arrived, she made valiant efforts and Glimmer failed to save a few fries.

“You have your own!” she said.

Catra took a bite. “Tastes better with a hint of theft.”

Remembering the pocket candy from earlier, Glimmer had to agree.

The rest of their lunch went smoothly, though she and Bow began to suspect DT of co-orchestrating a large-scale con that may or may not still be in operation; a theory which Entrapta was too enthralled with her pancakes to comment on and Catra implied that she was an accomplice in. Glimmer pried, wanting to hear firsthand about morally ambiguous crime in the city, but Bow immediately eased off the subject, thinking it a bad idea to risk becoming a witness.

At the end of lunch, Glimmer got close to offering to pick up the tab, but Bow said it first—and she knew better than to argue. Entrapta didn’t seem to think the same, however, as she began one of the most polite arguments Glimmer had ever seen, the prodigy engineer proving with each cordial statement that she was learning as much from Bow as Bow was from her. DT merely sat back with an expression that oozed, “I _love_ it when I don’t have to pay.” Catra, on the other hand, was still preoccupied with something Glimmer had yet to figure out.

“What was that?” It felt like the millionth time she’d said it with how frequently Kyle passed their table.

“What was what, babe?” Catra leaned against her chair, curving her arm around its back. There was a delighted, diabolic gleam in her eyes that she couldn’t quite place.

Glimmer frowned. “That… _nod?_ You nodded to Kyle and- _what._ Is _that?”_

From one side of the restaurant, the staff began to group together and head directly for their table, clapping a steady, jaunty beat. At the front of the group was Kyle himself, holding a…

_What._

Catra put her hands together and laughed a laugh worthy of DT. “At long last,” she said forebodingly.

Kyle set down a bowl of ice cream in front of Glimmer and spoke over the clapping of his coworkers. “Attention, everyone! We’d like to wish Glimmer here-” He gave her a great, big grin as Catra took out her phone- “a happy birthday—IHOP style!”

Glimmer sunk into her seat, glaring daggers at the girl across from her, as the staff and parts of the restaurant began to sing to her under false pretenses.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

_“Happy birthday, happy birthday! Happy birthday to you!”_ Catra’s voice sang the loudest, being the person directly behind the camera in the video. She would stumble over every other word to snort, though, and each word was undermined by barely-controlled laughter.

That was the _last_ Saturday morning group activity Glimmer would ever go on.

Glimmer groaned at being greeted by over a hundred new notifications the following morning. She was grateful for both her and Catra finding excuses to split after lunch yesterday, but she realized too late that that gave her no time to erase the video she took of her early, early, _early_ birthday surprise.

Catra had captioned the post with, _“hbd @glimglimmerglimmest_ 💖”._ She had also, apparently, sent the video to Glimmer’s mom, who’d texted her, “Catra just sent me a recording of her little joke at an IHOP restaurant… so funny! 😹 I did not realize you were dating such a prankster! I hope you enjoyed your ice cream, Glimmer……🍨😜 xo mom”.

She needed a minute to prepare herself to text back to that. If she'd text back at all.

Rolling over, Glimmer squinted at her phone and opened up Catra’s new post. Under the video, the highlighted comment was:

**hugbuggy75** Happy birthday princess!!!!! One year older doesn't make you any less golder!!!

Against her will, Glimmer smiled and liked her comment; she also double-tapped the post but drew the line at commenting. She scrolled through her feed, not yet ready to get up, when she remembered that she still had the photo from yesterday.

She opened up the gallery and there it was: Catra adorned with a purple cape and green hat, neon sunglasses glinting under the lights. The pink boa wrapped around her neck and hung off her arm as she pretended to inspect her nails, completely unaware that Glimmer was taking a photo.

Glimmer had almost satisfied her pettiness as she prepared the post, but her own little Jiminy Cricket stopped her. Sure, Catra posted an embarrassing video of her, but even Glimmer had to admit she found herself laughing about it after the song ended, especially while enjoying free ice cream—she and Bow had done the same to Adora (except it was _actually_ her birthday) when they found out she wondered what it was like to be surrounded in an awkward, slightly creepy happy birthday circle by total strangers. Catra couldn't have _not_ known that Glimmer would be fine—the press crowding her parents gave her enough experience with critical public attention, so a positive twist on that scenario wasn't that bad; if Glimmer posted _this,_ though, she would be publicly sharing something that Catra had shown her in private _without_ her permission. Whatever happened in the costume storage was a change that took Glimmer off-guard, but that probably meant even more that she should respect her and keep it private. She was already on Catra's bad side before she roped her into the dating mess and, though it hardly mattered then, it wouldn't help her case to be thoughtless _now_.

She debated it in her head as she stretched… then stretched another time because the first one wasn't satisfying enough. In the end, she chose not to upload the photo at all and discarded the post entirely. She'd feel weird asking Catra for permission, anyway.

…It was a shame to leave such a funny image, though. Glimmer's stomach growled, telling her to make a decision.

💙 **Catra** 💛

**Yesterday** 11:01 AM

it cuold use sum gilttr too

**Yesterday** 5:47 PM

Where were u when you txted this???

**Today** 10:28 AM

Remember when u told me to take a pic ysterday

Glimmer sent her the picture, completely satisfied.

She wandered through the living room and into the kitchen, having shouted a good morning but not getting a response. She found a note on the counter telling her about buying groceries, Bow's cartoon smiley Bow signing it off. She smiled, texting Bow, "Good morning!!! 💖💖", before she searched the kitchen to check that she didn't miss food that he might have prepared. Sure that he hadn't made anything, she took out a pan and ingredients for a grilled cheese.

Her phone lit up as she flipped over the second slice of bread. Assuming it was her roommate, she opened the text without a second glance and was surprised to see Catra's name at the top of the screen.

**💙Catra💛**

**Today** 10:40AM

DJAJSKS YUO DNIDT

???????

_Read 10:40AM_

Glimmer blinked. Was she angry? Upset? She had never seen Catra type in all caps before and only rarely had she seen her send a genuine key smash that wasn't just a particularly bad typo. She stared at her phone a little longer before she noticed that her cheese was melting to the pan. Her phone lit up a few more times, but she was too occupied with saving her grilled cheese to take a look.

Settling for her adequately disappointing breakfast, she cradled her mug of milk and curled up on the couch. She was surprised to see more texts from Catra as she opened her lock screen.

**💙Catra💛**

**Today** 10:42AM

tht was acorpia

im makign ths my pfp tho

tnx

**Today** 10:51AM

Np

  
  


Glimmer sat there and blinked. She’ll never get used to texting that girl.

Half an hour later, she had dismantled the cushions and laid on a makeshift mattress on the floor, standing only to drag her blanket into the living room. She was in the middle of multitasking between absently watching a bad conspiracy documentary, ignoring her essay, and fantasizing about dropping out and becoming queen of the crime world when Scorpia DMed her, then Bow quickly after. Scorpia was sending multiple texts, so she opened her messages with Bow first.

**Lara Croft 🏹**

**Today** 11:16AM

Good morning!!! I just saw this!!! :DD

I’m txting to say that gonna b a lil late 2 get back! :( i ran into mermista and she says she lost perfuma at soup aisle

The soup aisle????

What the hell is she doign in the soup isle???

Heck off!!!

Glad ur awake tho :)

Did u see ur brkfast in the microwave? I feel like i shouldve left a note :/

Glimmer craned her neck to stare over the edge of one of the couches, which was between her and the kitchen. She could only see the top of the fridge from where she was, but she dropped her head back, anyway. Staring into the microwave wouldn’t help her undo her upsetting grilled cheese.

**Lara Croft 🏹**

**Today** 11:22AM

Ur not replying and im afraid of the answer

🤗

AJASLDKLKSA

DON’T 🤗 ME MAAM I CANT BELIEVE U

What did you eat????

Sadness and unfilfillment :(

:(

Ru tired of my cooking already?

Noo!! :((

Hehe pranked u i know u love my trademarked cuisine

Ok i have 2 go!! Ily please make sure i have an apartment to come back to!!

Only tiem will tell 😔ily2!!!

💛💛💛💛

Having checked that off her to-do list, Glimmer opened her Instagram. Seeing the number of Scorpia’s messages, she made sure she got comfortable first, lying on her belly.

**hugbuggy57**

Scorpia 🦂

Today 11:16 AM

AWWWHH PRINCESS!!!!! 🥺🥺🦂🥺

I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GOT TO MEET MADAME CRY’S

C’yra*

I HAVEN’T SEEN HER SINCE OUR LAST IMPROVE CLASS

Improv* !!!!

The rest of Scorpia’s messages were audios, as they usually were when Scorpia realized that speaking was more efficient for what she had to say. Glimmer unplugged her earphones (sometimes Scorpia would get too close to the mic) and began listening.

The first few seconds were full of hearty, infectious laughter, the jolly kind that only Scorpia could manage on any given day. Her voice had a slight throaty pitch, but none of that took away her cheer—if anything, it made her laugh sound almost like Santa's. “Oh, Catra was _so_ happy to see that photo you gave her! You should’a seen it, princess, all blushing and everything. She denied it, I’m telling ya, she denied it _real_ good, but I know that blush when I see it! And ta'think I was worried about her and her sulking when you were there all along!

"Yanno, I felt super bad when I first dragged Catra out for one of DT's improv shows. We were actually just supposed to be there to see them in action, but she got called onto the stage! Oh, man, I would'a done anything at that moment to help her get out of the room—and by the looks of it, she'd have done the same thing—but she called out the theme an'- well, I dunno! DT must've said something, 'cause the team made her do it! And-"

Her first line of audio cut off there and Glimmer was reeling from hearing it. So Catra didn't hate her—which strangely alleviated her—but she acted all weird when Glimmer sent her the photo. Though, thinking again, she probably would've acted the same way if her mom saw a picture of her goofing off like _that._

"Glimmer one, Catra…" she sighed. "Probably more than one." She sipped her glass, rediscovering that it was empty, and played the rest of Scorpia's messages.

"Oh, man, princess. I was talking and the next thing I knew, this thing already stopped recording me, so I don't know where I left off! Let's see, uh. Talked about Catra seeing the pic—that was pretty early on, so I'd say you heard that—an' her having to go up and act. I started trailing off into money laundering, but that's not _that_ relevant, so I'll move on. I think the safest bet is diving back into the play!

"So, yeah, Catra called out something like, 'Wife murders her mans and runs away with his assets _and_ his mistress,' and DT loved it, for starters, and loved it _even more_ when someone said, 'Telenovela,' for the genre. So, yeah! DT pulled her from her seat and next thing I knew, she was up there in a feather boa with glasses 'n' a hat big enough to hide her face, speaking the rapid-est Spanish I’d ever heard. Or Portuguese? I dunno, she wouldn't tell me! The only time she spoke in English was with this wacky-poshy voice that was _nothing_ like her character's native language—like, I had no idea where that came from!"

Scorpia went on, narrating the performance in a very Scorpia fashion, and Glimmer felt like she was listening to an entirely different person—which, she supposed, was the entire point of acting, but still! She hadn't even known Catra spoke a second language (if Scorpia was recalling correctly and Catra wasn't spitting convincing gibberish), so acting on a completely improvised script? If it wasn't Scorpia telling her, she wouldn't have believed it.

But to be honest, she got invested. Until Scorpia wrapped it up, Glimmer _actually_ forgot that it was Catra who was onstage. She didn't know what she expected when she opened up her DMs with Scorpia, but it definitely wasn't this.

"And it turned out that the attorney was her husband _the whole time."_

Glimmer gasped. _"No way."_

"But- oh! I almost forgot what I came here for." Scorpia chuckled. "Silly ol' Scorps. She wouldn’t let me record it, so I gotta recite the whole thing now and again to keep it fresh. First off, happy birthday! Catra said something about it not really being your birthday—which makes sense ‘cause your last party didn’t seem so long ago—but everyone else got to sing you happy birthday, so I figured, 'Why can't I?' My cold isn't doing wonders for my voice right now, but Catra left, so there's nobody to stop me! Ha! Anarchy!" Scorpia laughed with vicious hilarity at her own antics.

She dove into the song and Glimmer played it a second time to record it and save it on her phone. New birthday alarm tune!

"And the second thing was, well, thank you, princess! I wanna come over and give you a big, huge hug right now, but I don't want to get you sick, so I'm gonna give you a thank-you so good that it manifests into a hug on your side of the screen!" Scorpia's voice softened, turning into something incredibly gentle and affectionate. "Really, princess. _I_ can see it, we _all_ can see what's going on—even _Entrapta's_ written it down somewhere in her little social journal things: you're probably one of the best things that's happened to her so far. Uh, Catra, I mean, not Entrapta—if, uh, if that wasn't clear. It's only been a couple weeks, but you've been so good for her and it's… it shows. She really likes you, Glimmer, and I can see it even when you aren't around. So thank you." Scorpia sniffed, her smile pouring into her words. "I was hoping all that fighting was really something else. I mean, I wouldn’t have known it was _this,_ I was just hoping you guys just needed some closure or something, but this is _great!_ And just when I was starting to think I was a hopeless romantic reading too much into it!

"Oh, I'm just a mess! Sorry for that, princess, I'm just really happy for you both. Now, go! Get on with your day and thanks for listening. If ya ever need anything, I'm here for ya, princess!" Scorpia's last voice message ended there, though there was a line of heart and hug emojis underneath, tying up her falsely-earned gratitude in a nice little bow.

Glimmer sat at the foot of the sofa, utterly pale-faced and stricken. "Oh, _fuck."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! and special thanks to scorpia whose appearance added 1k+ words to this chapter!!


	11. "What, Wildcat got your tongue?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to nny11 for helping me unlock the secrets of html coding!! i suddenly cant read anymore!!
> 
> there's some very very light references to s5 this chapter! i doubt these references alone will spoil anything, though.
> 
> i tried something new this chapter on top of playing with the html. i don't think it's that noticeable, but i think it helped progress this fic better. enjoy!

**gliMMer**

**Today** 11:30AM

COME OVER

**Today** 11:32AM

CATRA IM SERIOUS COME OVER

**Today** 11:35AM

FINE IM COMING OVER TO YOU

rly

YES??????

wtf don tcome near me

its a sundsy today

??????

in ordre to practice my faith im not spposed to b near gross ppl

**Today** 11:42AM

dont tell me ur actualy coming here

I let bow know im out

Im at the bus stop

what teh fuck

do u even kno wehere i am

Yes i asked scorpia🤗

jsut call me??

NO THIS IS IMPORTANT

nothign is ever this importantn calm down

YES IT IS WE BRAINWASHED SCOPIA

,,are yuo seriosu

YES????

I WOULDN’T LEAVE MY ENTIRE APPRTMENT IF IWASNT??

do not come ovre for a stupid conspirapcy theory i will kill you

**Today** 12:10PM

Let me in

not by teh hair of my chinny chin chin

I have mcdonalds

pics or it didtn happen

One time wehn i was 11 i kicked my bedroom door down bcause i didnt want to be grounded anymore

ok

I also didnt pay to fix it

im letting u in but not bcos i believe u. i dnot want the food to get cold

So Catra found herself at the desk and rifling through a brown McDonald's bag as Glimmer munched on a burger, laying on Adora's half of the bunk bed. Her visitor in question had one arm against her forehead, the other clutching a pillow to her chest; if Catra had glasses and a pad of paper—or, better yet, if she were actually listening—it would almost look like they were holding a therapy session.

"We've brainwashed an _entire_ person." Distress (and a bit of burger) disturbed Glimmer's voice.

"Y'know," Catra said between bites, "I still don't know what you're talking about." She held up a hand when Glimmer opened her mouth. "That wasn't an invitation to explain. Actually, I have my food, so I'm gonna kick you out now. Sorry, dorm rules say there's no animals allowed in the building." Pointedly, she added, “Sanitary reasons."

"I _will_ kick your door down if I have to!"

She sucked a breath in through her teeth. "Yikes. No threats allowed, either."

"Catra, we just _brainwashed_ one of your closest friends! How are you-!"

"Sparkles, _what_ are you talking about? You realize you, like, randomly barged into my dorm, blabbing on about how we _'brainwashed'_ a twenty-two-year-old with the mind of a third-grader." Catra threw her hand around to express how ridiculous it was. "Thanks for the burrito, but are you hearing yourself right now?"

"Are you hearing _this?"_ Glimmer had found enough calm (or focused enough irritation) to take her phone out. She tapped the screen and Scorpia's voice played from the speakers.

Slowly, Catra blanched. “Oh, _fuck.”_

 _“That’s exactly what I said!”_ Glimmer shot up, leaning forward from the edge of her bed. “What are we supposed to do?”

But Catra wasn’t listening—which, to be fair, wasn’t unusual. “I mean, it makes sense she’d think that. She’s all mushy and…” She grit her teeth, suppressing a shiver. “God, she really thinks that I _like_ y- that _we-”_

“You look like you’re going to throw up.” Her words sounded concerned, but Glimmer’s expression said that she was only worried that she’d be in the blast zone.

Catra ran her hand through her hair a second time. “I am. You’re gross to even _look_ at.” She leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “Oh, Scorps. Poor, happy ol' Scorps.”

"How do we undo this!" Glimmer said. "Like- like- do… should we tell her?"

"We have to break up."

"What!" She scowled. "No!"

Catra scowled right back. "Why not?"

"The wedding!"

"Who cares!"

 _"I_ cares!"

Catra snorted. "You ' _cares'?"_

"Shut up! I picked it up from Bow! Scorpia's gonna be so upset!"

"She'll be fine! That girl's a walking thing of sunshine! And, babe, it's about time we broke up."

Glimmer threw her free hand out, a gesture of frustration. _"Huh?"_

"We just can't see eye to eye and-" Catra sighed painfully. "I… I have to tell you the truth."

Glimmer just stared at her, irate and lost.

"I've been having an affair with this McWrap." She adoringly raised her burrito. "I couldn't help it. I'm so sorry…"

"Can't you take this seriously right now!" Glimmer tossed her phone onto a pillow and held onto her burger as if it was her life support. "Who knows who else is thinking of us like this!"

Catra didn't even give it a thought. "Pretty much everyone, probably."

Glimmer looked at her, dumbstruck. "You _knew?"_

She stared at her quizzically. "Well, yeah? It's obvious they're all relieved we're not trying to kill each other anymore."

"It's more than just _relief,_ Catra-"

"Sparkles, you're gonna mash your McDee's."

Glimmer startled as she looked at her hands. Her grip quickly relaxed as she channelled her panic into biting into her food, instead. "Isht's more than jusht relief," she repeated. She had reeled herself in a bit more each time she chewed, but her stress was still palpable.

Catra hummed in agreement. "What did you expect? Don't tell me you're surprised that they care."

"I'm not. I'm jus-" Glimmer followed the burger with a gulp of her drink. "I didn't think this through."

Catra huffed a laugh. "No, you didn't. Congrats, I guess."

She twisted to kick her feet up onto the desk, her free hand on the back of her head. An idle thought wandered into her mind: would it piss Glimmer off that they were talking and Catra had turned her back to her? Oh, that would be funny.

A few beats passed without a single remark from the other girl. Catra wanted to give her more time to see how she'd react, but she remembered all too vividly the last time she made the mistake of turning her back to Glimmer for too long. She twitched as she relived the feeling of Glimmer diving at her, ending up in the two of them brawling on the ground until their friends pulled them apart.

Catra winced at the memory. As nonchalantly as she could, she angled her head to the side.

Glimmer was leaning on the side of the ladder, looking lost in thought. Her brows were all scrunched up as she chewed on her lip, tapping her fingers on the back of her phone. Her short, dichromatic hair would sway each time she moved to take small, obligatory bites from her burger as she tapped her foot in staccatos. Catra thought that if she were anyone else, she'd call Glimmer—her expression, at least—cute or something; though it was smothered by the solemnity in her usually bright eyes. The sight made Catra's face twist.

"So, like," she said, "are you just gonna sit here or…?"

Glimmer flinched and finally looked up from her phone. Pink tinged her cheeks when she said, "S-sorry. Ugh, I'm sorry. I…" She freed her hands only to plant her face in them, pressing in a way that comically stretched her features. For a moment, she was silent save for heavy, burdened sighs.

Catra got bored. She flicked a soggy fry at her and hit her square in the cheek. It stuck to her face before promptly falling into Glimmer's lap.

"Ow! What the-" She gingerly picked it up only to quickly drop it. _"Ew!_ Why is it wet!"

"I let it sit in my mouth while you were staring at the ground."

Glimmer took a napkin and threw the fry back at her, some of the spark returning to her eyes—not quite jovial, but less weird than nothing at all. The soggy potato hit the wall with a solid _thwack!_

…And stayed there, much to Catra's dismay.

"Are you always this gross or do you just hate me?" A grimace withered Glimmer's face, but there was no real venom in what she said. In their past year of antagonizing one another, she recognized it as just another reflexive remark.

It was also reflexive when Catra threw another fry—dry this time—at her. And perhaps another for good measure. Also reflexive, of course.

"Stop it! What- argh!"

"I'm trying to throw them into your mouth, but you keep moving." A fourth fry found itself in Glimmer's hair.

Glimmer took a long, measured breath. "Why?" she exhaled, the fry falling from her head. _"Why?"_

"Because you look so sad, my depression's relapsing," she deadpanned. "Either actually tell me why you came here or get out. If you don't choose in, like, five seconds, my therapist is gonna manifest in here and she'll kick you out herself."

Glimmer rubbed her temples. Catra almost leaned forward to smooth the frown off of her face, forgetting that she didn't need to keep up the act. She dropped her hand back down but turned her chair around to fully look at her.

"Can I tell you something?" Glimmer had her head bowed into her hand, eyes boring into the floor.

Habitually, Catra sneered. _"No?"_

Glimmer groaned. "Why am I doing this?" She moved her hand to her cheek, a movement that tilted her head in a way that Catra could see the disquiet overtaking her.

Against her worse judgement, Catra wheeled the chair forward and gently nudged Glimmer's leg with her foot. "I'm listening."

She lifted her head. They were silent as Glimmer looked up at Catra, expression hard and searching. 

Under her unrestrained and well-deserved scrutiny, Catra felt a blush rise. It would always feel like a challenge when someone stared her down, but this time was different. It was… strange—Glimmer wasn't trying to get her to back off.

It was easy for Catra to keep the red from showing onto her cheeks with a deep breath disguised as a yawn… but she knew the tips of her ears would heat up, too, when she got nervous. She hid the creeping warmth by casually leaning the side of her head onto her hand, allowing her hair to cover the other ear. When Glimmer dropped her eyes to the side, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

 _Jesus_ . The last time she felt _that_ stupid was when DT decided to bring up her fosterer into a casual conversation/interrogation.

"I'm a good liar." Glimmer had her chin in her palm again, eyes drooped helplessly downwards.

Catra raised an eyebrow at the odd confession but held her tongue.

"And I-" She growled into her hand, appearing both frustrated and confused.

Catra acknowledged Glimmer as a physically affectionate person—she saw the girl hugging her friends all the time. Catra _wasn't_ , but there _was_ a compromise…

She gave in and rubbed the crease on Glimmer's forehead. Knowing some of her awkwardness showed, she said nothing as Glimmer looked up in surprise. She only leaned back in her chair and motioned for her to go on, lips a thin line.

Glimmer coughed, her cheeks pinkish. 

_How hard do you have to lean on your hand to do that?_ Catra thought, humoured.

"The only time I've kept up a… a _façade_ as big and dumb as this one was…" She cleared her throat again and spoke quieter. "About two years ago, um… you might know about it."

Catra thought back a few years, but she couldn't remember a Brite scandal headlining the news. She shrugged. "Don't think so."

Glimmer picked at the sesame seeds on her half-eaten burger. "My parents… got into a really bad car accident."

 _Ah._ She remembered seeing _that_ almost everywhere.

Catra tried to channel Scorpia. "Oh, uh… I- uh, I'm sorry. To hear that." She considered patting her shoulder as Scorpia might, but her hand felt like lead at the awkward thought.

"No, it's okay," Glimmer said, laughing slightly. "They're doing better now. I mean, my dad still does his therapy routine sometimes, but he's just weird like that. Like, they're fine! My dad can go on flights on his own now and you saw how my mom's doing. Um, just… I'm a good liar—I said that earlier, right?"

"Did you?" She suppressed a snort.

"…I don't like you."

"Thank you."

Glimmer waved her off. "I… usually only lie to win Werewolf or something and…"

Catra nodded, believing she understood. The whole fake dating thing must've been a bigger lie than Sparkles could handle.

"A-and with both of my parents in the hospital, a lot of the responsibilities with the press and, _God,_ even some company decisions in my dad's place—they fell to _me_ . I guess all of the practice with lying helped because I somehow-" Glimmer sighed. "I don't know… I got kinda secretive and-" she cringed- "just _awful_ . Nobody could get me to _actually_ talk to them and it was so _frustrating._ My aunt was quick to take over Mysta Corporations, but I just felt so trapped by the reporters and we couldn't get them to leave me alone! I-I let the whole thing get to me and…" Her voice wavered into silence as she pinched her eyes shut.

The room was quiet. A few seconds dragged on until-

"You were still in high school," Catra realized.

Glimmer looked up at her. "Huh?"

"I read about the car crash. I was in Salineas, so that was six months into my gap year. You were probably, like, just finishing your first semester."

The upset frown on Glimmer's face became confused. "Yeah…?"

"That's a lot of shit to deal with at once, especially for someone who can't, like, drown her stress in alcohol yet," she said, the joke slipping out, "and you've probably made up for it now."

Halfway through Catra's sentence, Glimmer was already shaking her head. She hunched over and pressed her hands against her face. "No, no, that- that's not it," she said, her voice panicked and muffled. "I- _this_ , I… it feels like I'm doing it all over again! Hiding things, keeping up this _huge lie_ that makes everyone feel better and happier—I'll top it off making this huge, stupid mistake that _fucking-!"_ She startled and covered her mouth. Speaking quieter, it was as if she couldn't meet Catra's eyes. "Sorry. This just… this makes me feel like I…"

When she didn't continue, Catra spoke up again. "Like you haven't learned anything."

For the briefest of seconds, their eyes met and a surprised, diffident understanding passed between them. Quicker than it came, the moment was pushed aside.

Glimmer cleared her throat, looking away and tugging at her hair as if it were long enough to cover her face. "Uh, s-sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, that was…" Catra fiddled with the collar of her shirt, the already loose cloth now feeling too constricting. "Um. Weird. But, er, it happens. Sometimes." She glanced at Adora's flexing mirror, unsure if she was as pale as the walls or flushed down to her neck, but she didn't have the right angle.

"I should probably, ah…" Glimmer got up and slipped her phone into her pocket, but it was only when she reached for her shoes that Catra realized she was leaving.

"Sparkles-" Catra darted from her chair to grab Glimmer's hand. At the last second, she rerouted to grasp her arm. "Wait."

Glimmer turned around and revealed her blush, humiliation watering down the usual annoyed look she defaulted to when regarding Catra. Her eyes moved to Catra's hand, expression unreadable, right before Catra let go.

"Let's just break up, then," Catra proposed.

Glimmer's eyes narrowed, though it looked more like a grimace than a glare. "This again?"

"I'm serious this time. And I won't even bring the burrito into this."

She knew the joke landed when Glimmer rolled her eyes and fully faced her with a lazy, though pained, smile. She crossed her arms and waited for Catra to continue.

Somehow, she found her voice and did just that. "It's not going to work out if you're feeling guilty the whole time. Either we plan the breakup so we're prepared for it or you bottle up your guilt and randomly explode or something—so let's just call it quits while we still have the chance to."

Glimmer furrowed her brows. "I… I don't know. Even if we did break up and everybody believed it… what about the wedding?"

Catra shrugged, refraining from telling a marriage joke that might piss her off. "You've got a good mom. She's not gonna force you to get a new date right after a breakup, is she?"

"No, but…" She rubbed her face. "No, you're right. I guess we should- _grr,_ I don't know!"

Catra's phone buzzed a few times, then Glimmer's soon after. Since Glimmer unlocked her screen, Catra thought she might as well do the same.

**adora the explorer**

**Today** 12:39PM

[C+G Sched.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PRYxSqUb0Ziuz9f2ocNl_SPcRIPgYC1Yp9NCnJxTZMo/edit?usp=sharing)

Done!

You thought I was too busy milking Sappho's blessing, but I'm still here supporting you and being helpful 😒

wht sthis

You're not even going to open it to find out? ☹

mabye u got hakced n this is a vrius

Wait, doesn't the name show up??

Catra ☹

_Read 12:40PM_

"Oh, my God, she finished the schedule," Glimmer said, staring down at her phone.

"Is that the link Adora sent?" Catra leaned over to see and, sure enough, it was a table of time slots that would work best for the two of them. "Damn. She kind of outdid herself on this one… You take pottery lessons?"

Glimmer blushed. "It's good for stress relief." She groaned. "She wants us to take those couple bonding classes."

Grimacing, Catra said, "If we broke up, we wouldn't have to even consider this thing."

Glimmer said, "I dunno. It _actually_ looks like we're getting along! It’ll come out of nowhere."

"So you're saying we should publicly argue more."

"No! That's gonna stress everybody out!"

 _"Ehh."_ Catra tilted her head. "Throwing pots is your stress relief, getting under your skin is mine."

Glimmer grumbled, back to glaring at her.

"See? I'm having the time of my life right now!" Catra leaned against the bed frame as Glimmer playfully-menacingly tried to knock her over. "Okay, okay. What if you said it's 'cause the happy birthday pissed you off?"

"You want me to tell everybody that I broke up with you because you got some guy named Kyle to sing, 'Happy Birthday' to me at an IHOP?"

She nodded. "Yup."

"No."

"Fine. I'll say _I_ broke up with you because I got some guy named Kyle to sing to you at an IHOP and you didn't appreciate it enough." Catra raised her hands placatingly. "Hey, Sparkles, it won't be the first time that's happened."

Glimmer actually laughed. "So no hard feelings?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

Glimmer pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, smiling almost incredulously. "I can't believe it’s almost been a week and I _still_ haven’t cut your throat yet.”

Catra pretended to be tentative as she clutched her neck. “Yeah, me neither.”

Timidly, Glimmer's eyes darted down, then to the window. "Um… thanks, Catra.”

She quirked a brow. “For what?”

“For, y’know…” Shoes still in hand, Glimmer played with one of the shoelaces. “Listening and, well, taking it seriously. Kind of.”

“Kind of,” Catra agreed. She didn’t bother pushing down her rising self-consciousness. “Are you, uh- are you leaving now, or…?”

_Damn. Too blunt?_

Glimmer started. “O-oh, yeah. I should probably sleep on this- I-I _really_ don’t know what I’m doing. Sorry, I didn’t mean to overst-”

“No, it’s fine. Give it a day or whatever. I’ll give you a ride back.” Catra jumped up and pulled a random sweater off of her bed, then snatched up the leftover burger on Adora’s.

“What?” Glimmer shook her head. “No, it’s okay. There’s a bus in a few-”

“I’m pretty sure you’re lying ‘cause bus routes basically don't exist on Sundays. Also-” she shoved the burger into her hands- “we’ll be even.” When Glimmer looked like she was about to protest more, Catra held up her hand. “You’re seriously gonna say no to another bike ride?”

She couldn’t tell if the blush on Glimmer’s cheeks were embarrassed or excited, but it put Catra more at ease when the usual glint in her eye returned. “Well, if you put it like that…”

Glimmer whooped as Catra tossed her the helmet. Too eager to wait, she slipped it on and adjusted the chinstrap, visor falling over her face.

"You better not get cheeseburger stains on the inside."

Spitefully, Glimmer undid her strap and took a bite. Catra scowled at her and Glimmer gave her a thumbs-up.

Watching Glimmer's total disrespect, Catra had a thought. “Hey, Sparkles?”

“Mmhf?” Glimmer lifted the visor.

“If you pay for the gas, I can think of a better way to pay you back for lunch.”

Her eyes lit up despite the suspicion in her voice. “This isn’t some trick, is it?”

She pulled on her purple-and-gold spirit wear, poking her eyes out through the hole. “Do I look like someone who’d pull a fast one on you?”

She didn’t even have time to feign innocence before Glimmer said, “Absolutely.”

“Mm, that’s too bad. I think you would’ve liked this one.” Catra leaned on the doorframe and hovered over Glimmer, challenging her.

Glimmer crossed her arms and returned her stare. “What is it?”

“You’ll have to find out, Sparkles. Schedule says we're both free tomorrow night. Deal?"

Glimmer glared at her. "Hmph." Looking satisfied, she balled up the wrapper for her burger and threw it at Catra, who batted it away. "Deal! Shake on it-"

 _"Yeugh!_ _Cooties!"_

 _"Catra!_ Come back here! _"_

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

"GLIMMER!"

"Bow?"

High above their heads, a Bow-shaped figure stood on a balcony with his hands cupped around his mouth.

"Do you _need_ to yell right next to my ear?" Catra complained, shoving Glimmer away.

Glimmer responded by planting a hand on Catra's cheek and pushing her back.

Bow didn't seem to notice their quarrel, continuing with, "Is that Catra!"

"No, it's an Uber!" Glimmer shouted.

Catra mumbled, "Thanks, Sparkles."

He turned his head and put a hand to his ear. "What?"

"I'm joking! It's Catra!"

Bow leaned over the railing. _"What?"_

"It's _Catra!"_

He stood up straight then, blankly staring down at the two of them. Their silence stretched on before he shouted back, _"WHAT?"_

"It's _CATR-"_

" _Shut up!"_ Catra shoved her helmet back down onto Glimmer's head and pointed at her lecturing-ly. _"Text_ _him_ or something—are you stupid!"

"Alright, alright!" Glimmer grumbled as she took her phone out. She pulled the helmet off, lips pursed. "Tou _chy."_

Gingerly rubbing her ears, Catra turned in her seat to better poke her nose into Glimmer's business. "'Lara Croft'? Isn't that some comic protag with daddy issues?"

"Uh, _no,_ it's a _video game_ protag with daddy issues." Glimmer huffed. "And she's a badass, thank you."

"Let me guess-"

"No-"

"Bow likes her because she explores magical ruins and knows how to use a bow-"

_"Shush!"_

"-and you like her 'cause she explores magical ruins and has rock-hard abs."

Glimmer's face flushed a stunning red. She slapped her palm flat against Catra's mouth. "I'm on the phone!"

Catra decided to be merciful and neither lick nor bite her hand. Before she could change her mind, she grabbed her wrist and pulled it from her face. "I'm just saying, I'm starting to see a pattern with you and people who can throw you like a shot-put ball."

"That is _not_ my type!" Glimmer buried her face in her free hand. Catra could see her shoulders beginning to turn pink.

She looked down and noticed that Bow had picked up the phone. Smirking, she said, "Well, good. 'Cause I don't think I'd be able to live up to that."

Glimmer side-eyed her through her fingers. "W-what?"

"I mean, Scorpia's already bench-pressed you—I can't compete with that! If I had to fistfight her to stay with you… jeez, we might as well break up now." When Glimmer still looked perturbed and helplessly flustered, Catra added, "Babe," and gestured to the phone she held at her lap.

Her eyes widened. "O-oh, hi, Bow-! Uh- uhm, what were you-? Why- um."

Bow's voice came unintelligibly through her speakers. Catra pointed out that the speakerphone was off.

"Right- um, okay, it's on. What were you saying?" Glimmer slapped Catra's arm when she snickered.

"I was saying that you two are _so adorable,"_ Bow squealed, "and you should invite Catra inside because I made snacks and I have nobody to share it with!"

"Bow, you're friends with everyone in the entire apartment building."

Bow whined loudly, causing Glimmer to groan.

"Okay, fine. We're on our way up." Though she ended the call, Catra could hear Bow cheer from a few floors above them.

"Awh, you're just spoiling me with food today, babe." Smiling sweetly, she stood from her bike before Glimmer could have a go at her. 

Glimmer waved her hands as though smoothing out the air, placid. "You know what? I'm not even bothered! This is the parking lot where I saw you fall off your bike and _flat on your face."_ She smiled, content. "That's good enough for me!"

Catra pressed her lips into a thin line and frowned. "Whatever. Get off. I'll meet you inside after I park."

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

As soon as they entered their apartment, Bow greeted Catra with a welcoming, graciously hands-off wave and Glimmer with a big hug. Glimmer happily returned it, but the longer Bow tried to milk it, the more agitated she became.

Catra gladly made no attempt to help her. She left her sandals at the door, looking around.

The front door opened up to the living room, right next to a closet in the wall. The main area was mostly an open space with only a half wall to separate the kitchen and the living room, which made the music playing out from the kitchen ring loud. She spotted cupcakes cooling on racks covering every counter in the kitchen and sliding doors leading out to the balcony; however, she immediately gravitated to a comfy-looking couch in the living room.

While Glimmer was still being crushed in Bow's hug, she unpromptedly made herself at home. The cushions sank under her weight, which was a thousand times better than her dorm-provided mattress. Noticing what was in front of her, she hummed. "So this is the infamous D&D session table."

It was a long black coffee table, placed in between the two identical couches. At one end of the table, a bean bag chair sat with its back facing the wall. Catra could imagine Adora sitting there, hiding her notes behind her beloved DM screen, then stupidly struggling to stand at the end of each session despite her friends' help. Curiously, Catra pulled open one of the table's drawers and was unsurprised to find little tiles depicting various terrains, a handful of them messily labelled on the back, “GAY TILE”. Catra couldn’t see any identifying characteristics that would make these specific tiles gay. Another drawer revealed a handful of those mini action figure things that Adora would bring to their dorm whenever she needed to ask Catra for help. She’d sit her down against her will and ask if anyone looked too scary or—and Catra liked these better, though she would never admit it—if a character seemed so unbearably cute that it would derail the adventure.

So far, there wasn't a single character Catra couldn't make up a personality that Adora's friends hadn't loved, be it a grotesque little goblin-demon thing or that weird jellyfish-looking monster half the size of Adora's forehead. Catra took solace in the fact that she would swear her to secrecy about her involvement with them every time.

Still having Glimmer trapped in his embrace, Bow said, "How did you know? Oh, and, by the way, I love the NPCs you make! I'm so attached to Melog that I've cried every session since we met them! My emotional stability is in shambles."

 _Oh, my_ God, _Adora, you piece of-_ Catra turned away so they wouldn't see her soul leave her body.

"Do _not_ start it with Melog, I swear! Bow, let me _go!"_

"Five more seconds! I haven't seen you all day!"

Catra hoped her chuckle sounded like she wasn't in the process of dying. She pretended that Bow hadn't mentioned her favourite character so far and she selectively replied to his question about the table. "I-it has the same little dents our desk has. From, ah, Adora missing the dice mat every single time." 

Glimmer steamed, looking as if she were breaking her personal record for her number of times embarrassed in one afternoon. Realizing this, Catra was relieved to have someone easy to make fun of in the room.

Catra leaned over the back of the couch, covering her reddening ears once again. _"Aw,_ you're so _cute."_

"Not-" Glimmer struggled against Bow's crushing hug- _"helping!"_ She wiggled free from his arms, pouting at him. “You’re lucky the cupcakes smell good!”

Sniffing the air, she couldn’t deny it. “They do. It smells like you have an entire bakery in here.”

“Thank you!” Facing her now, Catra could see that Bow was wearing a flour-stained “Smooch the Chef” apron. He gestured to the kitchen. “C’mon, I just started frosting them, but there’s a few ready for critiquing.”

Catra raised a brow. “Critiquing? I was just here for free food.”

“Don’t play coy!” he said teasingly, gently pushing away Glimmer’s hand when she reached for the piping bag. “I’ve heard about your secret food critic hobbies.”

“Hobbies?” Skeptical, she stood from the couch. “What do you mean?”

Glimmer perked up, icing somehow already on her cheek. “Adora says your Netflix is full of cooking shows and-” she paused, a mischievous spark in her eyes- "you _did_ keep me up last night talking about our lunch at IHOP."

"I did n-!" Catra remembered the embarrassing golden rule of improv and begrudgingly stopped herself. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “How else am I supposed to spend time with my girlfriend who _refuses_ to be coherent past ten PM?”

Glimmer almost looked offended. "I'm _perfectly_ coherent past ten!"

Bow laughed but was otherwise silent, focusing on the cupcake in front of him. As Glimmer's hand inched towards a piping bag, Catra came forward and peeled the liner off of a pink-frosted cupcake. It came off easily and neatly, and though it was a bit flat, Bow balanced its flavours pretty well.

As she wiped her mouth of the filling, she looked up and realized the two were looking at her intently. "What?"

"How was it?" Bow asked, eyes wide.

Catra frowned. "What?"

"The cupcake," Glimmer said. "What do you think?"

She only frowned deeper. "What does it matter? It’s a cupcake."

"Please!" Bow dropped the piping bag and brought his hands together, pouting. "I want to know what you think!"

Catra was about to shake her head and refuse again, but Glimmer sidled up to her and gave her the same puppy eyes. Catra felt a shock go up her arm from where they touched and half-jumped away, grumbling. "Fine, okay, jeez. Just- stop that!"

Bow and Glimmer high-fived.

"It's, uh-" Catra scratched the back of her neck, staring down at the cupcake in her hands. How could she say this without sounding like a nerd who de-stressed by watching food science videos? "I mean, it's good. And, uh… it's a little sweet. You might have used too much icing sugar in the filling or the frosting… or icing or whatever. It's not as fluffy as it could be—think you overmixed the batter. But it’s not dry or anything and you did good with how much cream cheese you filled it with… uh, maybe use the cream cheese as the icing instead so it’s not so sweet. Red velvet isn’t my favourite, but this isn’t bad. Um, yeah. It’s a good cupcake."

Bow looked at her, awestruck. "Can I hug you?" he asked, voice tiny and barely contained.

"Can't believe you're asking." Catra tensed slightly. "Make it quick, I guess."

He squealed, giving her the most considerate hug she'd ever received. When he pulled away, she almost felt not-weird.

"I will _absolutely_ try that! Thank you!" He booped Glimmer's nose. "And thank _you_ for dating her and unlocking her wisdom!"

Glimmer snickered at Bow, then regarded Catra almost as if she were impressed. She leaned in, voice falling under the music. "I thought Adora was making it up."

“That I absorb this shit like a sponge?” Of course, Catra found the gall to be cocky again. "Are you serious? As if I'd be anything less than great at anything ever."

"I mean, you ordered milk with your meal yesterday. How was I supposed to know you might genuinely know something about food?"

Catra glanced over at Bow, noticing that he was cheekily side-eyeing them. "He's real nosy."

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "He's _happy for us."_ She poked Catra's shoulder. "And you better appreciate it! He'll like you more than I ever will."

Sensing an opportunity, Catra propped her arm on the countertop bar behind Glimmer. She leaned down and grinned sharply. "Wanna bet, Sparkles?"

She got the reaction she wanted. Glimmer stuttered dumbly, that hilarious display of flustered shock on her face again.

Barely containing a real laugh, Catra chuckled, low and sultry. "What, Wildcat got your tongue?"

Glimmer pinched her eyes shut. Pink lined her cheeks, but it wasn't frosting. "That. Was _so_ bad."

"But _that-"_ Catra pointed to her face, her laughter bubbling up- "was _golden!"_

As if sensing that Glimmer needed a break, Bow called, "Hey! Do you two wanna help decorate?"

"Please!" Glimmer said. She frantically ducked under Catra’s arm and scurried towards Bow.

"Then I officially grant you piping rights!" He tapped the air above Glimmer's shoulders with the tip of a piping bag, knighting her. "Here is your cream cheese. Use it with dignity and pride. Catra, come get your rights!"

Completely satisfied with what she accomplished today, Catra humoured him and decidedly set off to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! :)
> 
> edit: i forgot the title i hope it's fixed now


	12. "Oh, yeah. You’re Catra's girl."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone. I've got a few things I'd like to say. Please click [this link](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zsCyLoT5tqu9SNLWDUtg9XxPdOpT9VgWoh8pkrxOHnQ/edit?usp=sharing). It will take you to the document—it's not a Rick Roll this time, promise.
> 
> There's quite a bit in the document and I understand if it's overwhelming. The main concern is that I stand with my Black brothers, sisters, and siblings, and you know damn well I do it with all the pride I've got. If you're unwilling to (learn to) do the same, then I ask you to no longer read this fanfic. I will never share my happiness with people like you. The document also contains some links to educate yourself and help.
> 
> No, VaMB will not stop here. As I mentioned in the document, AO3 is my safe space. My chest hurts writing this now because I know that I'm taking this horrific situation into my happy place, but being able to feel my chest tighten means I've still got a beating heart, which is more than what many others have right now. We are so, so lucky to be able to breathe. Let's try to be the last generation they fuck over.
> 
> Thank you. Please take care of yourselves and live to help another day.
> 
> BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Bow made so many cupcakes that they had delivered a few to everyone in the apartment who wanted some with plenty left to spare. Since he’d been on his feet all day, Glimmer, out of love for Bow, volunteered herself and Catra to offer the cupcakes door-to-door—y'know, like baker versions of a Jehovah’s Witness. Consequently, not only did Glimmer’s calves feel more boneless than Bow’s frosting the next day, her patience with Catra was at an all-time low, too. When she caught her eye going between classes, she could tell Catra was feeling the same thing. If they locked eyes through a window or over a table, Catra would look away so fast that Glimmer could've imagined it. Though Catra never really paid her much mind, she would still give a wink or a smirk from where she was after the whole fake-dating thing started; now, it was back to pretending like Glimmer didn't exist.

_ Great _ .  _ Just what I needed today. _

At the student lounge, Glimmer began making up excuses not to hold Catra to her end of yesterday's bargain. It was a welcome break from juggling between eating a sandwich and acutely trimming down her abstract, anyway.

"Hello, Glitter, my dear friend!"

A few students enjoying the quiet of the lounge shot Sea Hawk a glare, but most of them remained unbothered, too busy cramming. Someone in a second-level study room tapped on the glass and frowned, but Sea Hawk was unbothered.

"Hi, Sea Hawk," she greeted, stifling her reaction at the nickname. She was thankful that Catra had begun to stick with "Sparkles" more—if she hadn't, Glimmer would get tired of everyone else's nicknames  _ fast _ . "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, well," he said, sitting across from her, "I was on my way to wrangle some of the boys together so we could crack open a cold one and feel some  _ raw _ sentimentality when I spotted you hard at work! I thought I would ask you now if you had any particular personalizations in mind—for your helmet, of course, to get a headstart on preparations," he added when he noticed her confusion.

It didn't clear much up.

"Nary a decor is unobtainable, I assure you!" Sea Hawk puffed his chest proudly, switching his approach. "Why, Apollo  _ himself _ wishes he could commission my  _ dashing _ crew to pimp up his sun chariot! And- er… is there something wrong, Glimmer?"

Glazing over Sea Hawk's amalgamated vocabulary, Glimmer said dumbly, "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. Do you… have the right Glimmer?"

"There's only one Glimmer that shines as  _ Brite _ as you!"

She laughed a sigh at the long-since-exhausted pun. "Thanks, Sea Hawk."

"Not a problem, my dear friend! But I'm asking about the cosmetics for your helmet later this evening. For your date with Catra that she so-stubbornly claims isn't a date?"

_ Oh? _ Although  _ very _ curious, Glimmer scratched her head. How would an actual girlfriend do this?

"Sea Hawk… I don't think I was supposed to know about this." That was true, at the very least.

He froze in place, audibly gulping. "Ah. I see."

"Yeah." She giggled at him but tried to suppress it for his sake. "I won't tell her."

"I would very much appreciate it if you didn't!" As he rose, so did his pitch. "I'll be on my way, now. Have- have a good one, Glimmer!"

"You, too, Sea Hawk." She saluted him with her sandwich. "And I  _ won't  _ see you later tonight!"

He smiled back, awkward, and made it worse with a thumbs-up. "Of course not! You have no reason to!" 

"Sir, please exit the area if you're not here to work." A tired-looking teacher sighed at their desk. "You're bothering the students."

"Not to worry, my good fellow, I was  _ just _ showing myself the door." Sea Hawk laughed. "I don't even attend here!"

The teacher, befuddled, blinked at Sea Hawk as he sauntered past the doorway and into the growing crowd of students.

Wait. Growing crowd of students…?

Glimmer glanced at the time. Oh,  _ great. _ Her lunch break was over. She quickly packed up her things, stretching her sore legs as she did so, and hoped she could sneak her sandwich into her stratification class.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

"Catra?" Glimmer only answered the call out of pure surprise. "What is it?"

Catra's voice came out muffled and incomprehensible. Glimmer could hear the wind better than she could hear Catra's voice.

She caught Mermista's attention and excused herself, to which Mermista replied with a lazy wave of her hand. Out of earshot from one of her occasional random gatherings with her friends, Glimmer said, "I can't hear you."

"Aye, aye, captain."

Of  _ all _ the things Catra was able to get across, it had to be  _ that _ . Glimmer rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Catra hung up. Glimmer stood at the corner of two shelves and pulled her phone from her ear, eyeing her screen. "...huh?"

_ God, why does she have to be so  _ weird? she thought. She pocketed her phone, making her way out of the rows of board games and into the public game room. In one corner, her friends were sitting around a round table, tension coming off of them in waves. The warm light dangling above them twitched as Mermista slammed her fist against the table.

"What did I miss?" she whispered to Bow.

"Well…" He glanced at Mermista who was glaring daggers at Entrapta across the table. "I think we forgot that Monopoly takes the 'friendly' out of 'family-friendly'."

"That is  _ not _ how this is played." Mermista was leaning forward on the table, dice clenched in her hand.

"Yes, it is!" Entrapta had unfolded the game rules, shoving it in Bow's direction. “Catra's mentioned before that this game can become dangerous, so I made sure to read the rules with maximum attention. Look, it's under the payment section!”

Bow complied, holding up the long page like a squire for her to read. "Please keep Mermista from jail," he hissed frantically at Glimmer.

“‘Change is not given!’” Entrapta read aloud. “‘For example, if a player charges you a two-million-dollar-rent and you only have a three-million card-’”

Mermista glowered. “No.”

“‘-in your bank, you don’t get change. Too bad!’” Entrapta smiled at her. “It’s right here if you want to see!"

“W-well, Scorpia and I have played this before without s-so much tension… u-um, as she's said, so long as money is being circulated into a-and fairly distributed around the economy, it sh-should be fine! Nothing to fight about!” Perfuma pressed her fingertips together, her wide grin shaking intensely. Glimmer could see sweat beading on her forehead. “A-as they say: generosity nourishes the soul!”

“Then why don’t I just give her a  _ hand-!” _ Mermista reeled her fist back.

Perfuma dove at her, clinging onto her arm. _ “No!” _

“Oh, jeez, oh, jeez!” Bow hurriedly but tentatively folded the rules back up. Glimmer distantly remembered that there was a fee for damaging the games.

Glimmer’s phone vibrated again. Her eyes searched around the room—the staff took one look at the Monopoly board placed on the table and were quick to turn a blind eye—then her friends. Entrapta was at a safe distance, especially with Bow now having placed himself in a star pose between her and Mermista… who was now standing with her chair on the floor and the dice forgotten on the game board. Perfuma was close to tears, but that usually meant that her adrenaline was kicking in and she’d be able to judo flip Mermista if she had to.

It was a tough decision: answer her phone or stay and watch Perfuma flip some tables? Unfortunately, her caller rang a second time, so the choice was made for her. Moving to the side again, Glimmer read the name on the screen and picked up her phone. “What do you want, weirdo?”

Catra snorted. “I want you to come outside so I don’t have to go in and deal with whatever’s going on in there.”

She leaned around a shelf to see through the windows at the front of the room. Catra stood on the other side holding her helmet under one arm, her leather jacket zipped up. Placed behind reflections of light, Glimmer didn't immediately notice that Catra was waving.

“What are you doing here?”

Catra dropped the wave and put her phone back to her ear. “Huh?”

Glimmer groaned.

“Do you wanna eat dinner on the road or just have it now?” Catra started bumping her head against the glass, bored. “Whatever it is, I’m not gonna have it in there.”

Behind her, Perfuma had fixed herself onto Mermista’s back. It seemed as if Bow disappeared, but after a second look, Glimmer saw that he was wrapped around Mermista’s legs. Entrapta had moved away now, observantly scratching her chin and speaking into her phone.

“What’s going on?” Glimmer asked Catra.

“You tell me, Sparkles. Oh, my God." She squinted. "Is that Monopoly? You let Worm play Monopoly?”

Glimmer sighed and hung up. Catra frowned at her phone then at Glimmer, throwing her hands up. A couple by the windows raised their heads, but she glared at them before they could close the blinds.

_ “What gives?” _ she mouthed at Glimmer.

Glimmer put up a finger to tell her to wait.  _ No, _ not  _ that _ finger. Yet.

Very cautiously, she approached Mermista. She had begun to calm down— _ literally _ “down” as the weight of Perfuma on her back was pulling her to the ground—but Glimmer could never be too careful. She crouched down and whispered to Bow, “Hey.”

“Hey,” he croaked back.

She started, “Um, Catra’s here-”

“Oh, please go, Glimmer. There’s nothing left for us here!” He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back, causing Mermista to precariously tilt forward. Perfuma acted as a counterweight and leaned back.

“Bow…” Glimmer whined though she wore a smile.

He dropped one of his arms to shoo her away. “Go! Out! Get with your girl! Leave it to me!”

Glimmer eyed Perfuma. Her gaze was pointed at the heavens as she muttered calming nonsense under her breath.

“I can comfort her, too,” he reassured. “I’m a one-man crisis prevention system!”

Although she really wished he asked her to stay and help, Glimmer kissed his cheek and thanked him. Oh, the sacrifices she makes for stupid lies and even stupider weddings.

“Take care, Bow. You, too, Entrapta.” She would have said the same goodbye to Perfuma, but she didn’t think that interrupting her panic meditation was a good idea. It… didn’t seem like Mermista was open to pleasantries, either.

Entrapta shot her two thumbs up and one bright smile. “Say hi to Catra for me!”

“I will!” She waved before doing a quick 180 on her heel, hoping to get away before any actual damage was done.

She speed-walked her way outside and deliberately avoided eye contact with the staff and patrons. Someone gave her an obligatory farewell, but she hardly even looked as she abruptly waved in their general direction on her way out. She pushed the door open, ringing the little bell above the door.

Almost immediately, a cool spring breeze strolled past. Wrapping her jacket a little tighter around herself, Glimmer was surprised at how late it had gotten; all the streetlamps had turned on, helping light up downtown alongside the endless rows of buildings, and the sun had already gone down.

“Finally,” Catra grunted. She pushed off the wall and tossed Glimmer the helmet. “The cat caf- that, uh, thing we went to with your mom is around the corner. You feel like grabbing a bite there?”

Glimmer briefly fumbled with the helmet, only having one free hand. Instead of feeling annoyed, though, she only snickered as she slid her phone into her purse. “You had fun there, didn’t you?”

Catra’s cool mask fell to a muted blush. She whirled her head to the side and busied herself with putting her hair up. “Shut it. Get on.”

“Why?” Glimmer stopped short. “Wh- how did you know I was here?”

“I asked  _ Bow,” _ Catra said, her gremlin-ness returning as her nose scrunched in a snarl-like grin.  _ “Bitch.” _

“Okay,  _ unnecessary.” _ She almost got on the bike before she remembered herself. “Why are you here, Catra!”

“‘Cause of yesterday’s deal, stupid!” Catra crossed her arms. If Glimmer didn’t know any better, she would say that Catra looked eager. “I’m starving and I wanna grab dinner first, but the rest’s a secret so don’t bother aski-”

“I already know what it is,  _ stoo _ -pid,” she said mockingly. “Well, sort of. I didn’t really ask him anything.”

Catra deflated a little, thoughtfully fiddling with her keys. Then, she made her way to sit on one side of her bike and rubbed her forehead. “Damn, it was Sea Hawk, wasn’t it? No wonder he ran away from me earlier.”

“Uh, oh.” Glimmer tensed.

Catra raised a brow. “What is it?”

“I told him I wouldn’t tell you!” Unable to clasp her hands together, Glimmer just held the helmet with a hand on either side. “Please don’t get mad at him!”

She shook her head. “I won’t, jeez. I like surprises, but I’m not gonna throw a fit if it gets spoiled. Not normally, at least,” she added guiltily.

“Oh, good, because-  _ oomf!” _ She felt a dull pinch behind her already sore legs as someone knocked against Glimmer from behind, throwing her off her feet and sending her stumbling forward. Damn you, delicious cupcakes!

Catra dove to catch her, one arm wrapped around Glimmer’s back and another steadying her bike from the impact. She barked,  _ “Hey! _ Watch it!”

Pulling her head from Catra’s shoulder, Glimmer only caught sight of the rear end of a bicycle speeding away.

C… Catra’s shoulder?

“Asshole,” Catra said under her voice. “You oka-?”

She looked down just as Glimmer turned towards her, their noses a paper-thin width apart. This close, she could feel the warmth of Catra’s breath against her face and, especially with her hair up, count the freckles haphazardly splayed across her cheeks. Glimmer felt Catra's hand tighten ever-so-slightly on the small of her back. Suddenly, she could hardly feel the chill of the wind.

A car passed behind Catra, its headlights absentmindedly pushing the shadows from one side of her face to another. The light reflected and shone sharply in her blue-and-hazel gaze as it gently darted over Glimmer’s face before finally settling on her eyes, steady and…  _ enraptured. _ City lights weren't the most flattering, but… even then, Glimmer couldn't deny that Catra looked-

_ What the fuck?! _ Glimmer jolted away and scrambled to pick up her helmet.

_ “Sh-shit! _ Shit, sorry, I-I-I didn’t mean to drop this!” She furiously rubbed at the spot that hit the pavement, though there wasn’t really anything there.

“Whatever, Sp-! I-  _ gah, _ just-  _ whatever!” _ Catra shrieked. She tossed her leg over her seat and lobbed a thumb behind her. “Get on before I fuck outta here!”

After scurrying onto the backseat, Glimmer plastered her hands to her sides, determined to somehow keep them to herself the whole ride. Catra seemed to be in a reckless driving mood that night though, so she dreadfully found herself clutching her like a lifeline despite her best efforts.

Fantastic.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

Whiskering Woods had closed for the evening. Catra tried to hide it, but Glimmer could see even from her side mirrors that she was disappointed. She felt bad, so she paid for their meal at a nearby diner. They had  _ one _ conversation during the time they were there.

"Have you thought about it yet?"

Glimmer looked up from her plate, a sesame seed from her burger pinched between her fingers. "Thought about what?"

Catra swirled a fry in her ketchup, somewhat forcefully uninterested. "About splitting."

"Oh." Right. Her mind still swam with a variety of answers, but in no way was she feeling as open as she was yesterday.

...It's only a couple more weeks. The wedding was a big one. She'd need to be able to keep this up, wouldn't she?

After a few beats of consideration, she steeled herself and went with, "No."

She knew she'd regret that eventually.

Catra raised a brow. "You didn't think about it?"

"No, I did." Glimmer bit her lip.  _ Please _ let this be a good idea. "I can go through with this."

"Mm. Good," she muttered. She took a sip from her straw, looking out the window. "Means I'm not wasting my time tonight."

When Glimmer was ten, her parents took her along to a party. It consisted mostly of boring adults and their energetic and weird six-year-olds, so despite Glimmer being pretty out-of-their-age-range, she was kicked to the kiddie table for the entire night. She sat between a kid who wildly misunderstood Barney and another who was deathly scared of sporks.

_ That _ dinner was better than the one she had with Catra. There was a silent—like,  _ silent _ silent—pact to pretend it never happened alongside their agreement to ignore whatever it was that happened outside of the board game cafe.

Ugh.

After dinner, Catra took them out of downtown and into an outdoor mall. Glimmer vaguely remembered buying furniture there, most prominently when Adora found the goldmine for bean bag chairs. Traffic was busy but maneuverable even that late at night and she could spot a few lively pubs down a corner.

"Might wanna hold on."

Not realizing Catra was talking to her, Glimmer was almost too late to tighten her grip around Catra's waist. She leaned to the left and dashed through a small opening off the main road, straight into the rows of parking lots.

"Shit," she mumbled. Normally, Catra would squeeze her arm to warn her about sharp turns, especially on crowded streets. Tension  _ sucks. _

She felt the increasingly more familiar shake of Catra's shoulders as the girl quietly laughed. "Sea Hawk gave me a backrest for the passenger seat. Remind me to put it on."

"Are you serious?" Glimmer found herself feeling relieved at the return of their easy back-and-forth. "Not that I mind nearly falling off every now and then, but…"

"Is that right? I guess I'll just get rid of it, then." More smoothly this time, Catra took a right.

Glimmer slapped her back, earning another laugh out of the girl.

"Do you think your parents will get mad at me if you fly off the back of my bike?" They came to a four-way stop and Catra leaned to the side as they waited their turn. She drummed her fingers on the handlebar.

Glimmer was unable to help a small smile, luckily hidden behind the helmet. "I'll take you with me if I do."

"I'm sure you will, Sparkles."

They started moving again, Catra making a beeline for a parking lot near a group of garage doors. The logo above the entrance read "The Motor Cycle" in an energetic and vivid font that was reminiscent of graffiti. There was an arrow attached to the end of the R and another cutting through the word 'cycle', visualizing a circle that revolved around a revving-up motorcycle. With the graffiti and the brick wall behind it, it looked a lot like the kind of place Glimmer's dad would claim to hang around in his "lost years".

Catra killed the engine and hopped off.

Pulling off the helmet, Glimmer asked, "Is this the place?"

Catra sighed. She looked at Glimmer, vastly unimpressed. "No, I'm gonna take you across the parking lot to Chapters to get you your own helmet."

"Rude." Glimmer was halfway off her seat when she realized with a grin, "My own helmet?"

Catra's brows furrowed as she locked her helmet onto her bike. "You said you knew."

"I had a  _ vague _ idea." Glimmer couldn't help it—she was excited! A motorcycle helmet looked  _ pretty _ badass. And didn't Sea Hawk mention something about cosmetics?

"Try not to get run over while crossing."

Glimmer stuck her tongue out at her in the middle of the road before skipping the rest of the way to the doors, her soreness suddenly dissipating. Just as she got to the handle, she sprang twenty feet into the air as someone flung themselves against the glass with a wet  _ thwack! _

"Holy f-!  _ Sea Hawk!" _

"Surprise!" The glass squeaked as he peeled himself off of it. He was beaming childishly as he opened the door and stepped back, spreading his arms wide. "Welcome, Glimmer! You look lovely, as always."

Glimmer accepted the hug and, though she was just in jeans, thanked him for the compliment.

Catra arrived soon after, wiping a tear from her eye as her laughter calmed down. "Oh,  _ shit, _ that was good. Hey, Sea Hawk."

"What's up with the what's-up, my dear friend!" He gripped her hand and did that…  _ thing _ where they bumped shoulders.

Glimmer cringed, remembering how she tried doing that with Adora. Adora ended up benched for the first quarter of her game and Glimmer had to borrow one of her team's ice packs. Glimmer gingerly pressed her collarbone, repressing a shudder.

"Welcome to my oasis!" Sea Hawk said, gesturing around the shop. Classic rock played throughout the store, completing the gritty but soulful vibe. "Take your time, have a look around. If you’re in need of some assistance—be it awesome inspiration or my simple, wise advice—I'll be in the main garage, looking absolutely stunning in these overalls. My trainee is also here tonight, but he's on a double shift, so try to ease up on him a little," he joked.

Catra gave him a non-committal nod and strolled off. As she did, Sea Hawk leaned in and whispered, "Have fun on your date!"

_ "It's not a date!" _ Catra screeched. She marched back and spun Sea Hawk around, pushing him towards one of the side doors. "Out. Now."

Sea Hawk was giggling the whole way past the door. He added nothing as he followed her demand, only stopping to wink at Glimmer before disappearing into the garage.

At least, Glimmer thought it was the garage—if the sign reading, "This is the garage, not the washroom! Thank you :)" above the door meant anything, that is.

With Sea Hawk dealt with, Catra huffed and begrudgingly turned to talk to her. Glimmer gasped. Her face was  _ so _ red.

"Cat-"

"Don't." Catra unzipped her jacket—probably to cool off, Glimmer thought amusedly—and sulked. She jerked her head to the side and trudged away with a, "Come on."

Glimmer strut next to a sulking Catra, coy and simpering. “Looks like someone’s doing all the annoying for me.”

Catra groaned and rubbed her face, swinging herself to the next aisle.

_ Fine, then. _ If Catra wouldn’t make conversation, then it’s merely the social norm to fill the gap. “Mermista’s mentioned that Sea Hawk knew you, but I didn’t really think you were friends.” She tapped her chin. “You guys… met at a gig, she said? Down in Salineas?”

“Who cares,” Catra grumbled.

“I cares!” she said, chipper.

Catra closed her eyes and shook her head, peeved but surrendering to Glimmer’s insistence. “Couple weeks before that. He spilled orange juice on me at a stop just outside of the Crimson Waste.”

She snorted. “You’re one of the weirdos who call the Red Desert ‘Crimson Waste’?”

Catra snarled at her, all bark. “What do you mean ‘one of the weirdos’? Everybody calls it that.”

“I don’t know.” Glimmer shrugged. “I think that just means you’ve been hanging around a bunch of weird people.”

"It's a  _ total _ wasteland there," Catra argued. "I went to one of the tiny-ass towns and half the population was made up of tumbleweeds."

Glimmer laughed at that. She moved to nudge Catra's arm before a recent too-close memory replayed in her read—she stopped herself just as she caught Catra staring at her with…

She couldn't put her finger on it. "What?"

Catra looked away and grumbled some gibberish, quickening her pace to the corner of the store. "Freakin' helmet," was all Glimmer understood.

She wasn't sure how she hadn't noticed it before—maybe the  _ really _ sexy-looking jackets distracted her—but two of the walls were covered almost entirely with racks of helmets. Catra stalked to where the two walls met, displaying numerous full-head helmets.

"You should get one of these," Catra said. She flipped a helmet shaped similar to hers in her hands, smirking.

It was pink with its lower third coloured purple, matching Glimmer's hair. It shone smoothly in the fluorescent lights as Catra tilted it to and fro, popping off one of the small lids over the mouth.

She tossed the piece in the air and caught it with ease. "It even has vent caps. Makes it easier to suffocate you."

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

"Thanks." She snapped the cap back on and returned the helmet to its stand. "But you do need to stick to a full-face. Unless you want a brain bucket."

Glimmer followed her hand gesture to a row of helmets that looked similar to what baseball players would use. Catra calling them "brain buckets" was a turn-off, though.

"Reduces the risk of me suffocating you." She snorted at her own joke before waving a hand. She lifted up the pink-and-purple helmet again, looking like a model in an infomercial. "These are safer, but you know I don't really care. I'll be over there."

"You're gonna replace your helmet?"

"Yeah." She shrugged, walking away. "I'm pretty sure somebody vomited in it a while back, so."

Glimmer started. "What!"

Catra tossed a grin over her shoulder before passing behind a jacket stand and out of sight.

"Did'ja need anything?"

She screamed as a person suddenly appeared behind her, wiping his hands with a rag. She leaped away and almost knocked into a column of helmets. 

Cringing, he raised a hand to one ear and seemed to adjust something. He reached to the side and tapped a helmet, fixing its position. "Sorry."

"I-it's okay." She looked at him a little more closely, his green hair striking her as familiar. "Hey, I know you!"

"...Do you?" He tilted his head. "Oh, yeah. Your Catra's girl. How's she?"

She didn't remember his name, their first conversation was horrible, and he just called her "Catra's girl". Glimmer gulped. "Y-yeah."

_ Fuck. _

He chuckled. "Alright. Let me know if you need anything—Glimmer?"

"Mhm!" If she didn't open her mouth, she wouldn't say anything stupid. Simple.

"Neat." He waved his hand and left Glimmer standing awkwardly beside the pink-and-purple helmet that seemed to mock her. She stuck her tongue out at it.

  
✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦  
  


"Hey, you found them."

Glimmer was trying on a cool helmet when Catra came up behind her and leaned on the counter. Glimmer flipped the face up, feeling like a knight.

"Does it…?" Curiously, Catra touched the side of the helmet and a visor fell before Glimmer's eyes. "Oh, awesome! Hold still."

It was a strange dance, Catra angling Glimmer's head as she tinkered with and observed the helmet she was wearing. Glimmer convinced herself it was the helmet that made her face feel hot as Catra continued to fiddle, tilting her head to the side. She snapped off the clear outer visor and looked it over with an excited smile.

Glimmer flipped the face up. "You're in a good mood," she said, pressing the cool back of her hand to her cheek.

"What do you mean?" Catra briefly raised a brow at her before returning her attention to the visor. She gestured for Glimmer to follow her. "My vibes are great."

Glimmer complied, forgetting that she was wearing the helmet. "Really."

"Yes? What makes you say that?" Catra stuck her head above a stand full of gloves, searching the room. "Damn, this is the slowest Monday night this place has seen yet. What idiot trainee would take a double shift tonight?"

"You were dodgy all morning. I thought you were tired of me because of yesterday." She mercifully glazed over the cafe incident and the terrible dinner that followed.

"No more tired of you than I usually am, Sparkles. I was kinda out of my head this morning. My buyer was real stupid." 

"Buyer?"

"I sold my old bike," she said, sounding proud. "Hang on, is that…?"

The person Glimmer bumped into earlier turned around, in the middle of tying his short hair. He nodded at the two. "Need something?"

"Rogelio? You work here?" Catra looked bewildered yet somehow unsurprised. She spoke a decibel higher than she usually did and made more specific hand motions. "Thought you were making coffee art at the cafe."

“Still do.” Rogelio—Glimmer exhaled, relieved she didn't have to ask for his name—waved a hand at Catra’s gestures. "Don't gotta do that. Got a new hearing aid. I'm tryna see how it goes." He turned his head. Sure enough, there was a device tucked behind his ear, the same shade of brown as his skin tone.

Catra hummed. "Is that why you took an extra shift?"

"To hear you call me an 'idiot trainee'?" A smile ghosted his face. "Kind of. Mondays aren't usually so slow—not overwhelmin', either, though. Kinda disappointed. But what'd you need?"

Catra raised the visor. "I took this off-"

Rogelio sighed.

"-and wanted to know if this model came with other tints. Don't look at me like that. I haven't broken this kind of stuff since the first time around."

He shook his head, turning to Glimmer. "You picked out a helmet?"

She smiled at this. "Yeah, actually."

"Lookin' to change anything on it?"

She nodded, trying to reel in her enthusiasm. "Sort of."

"Okay. You-" he pointed to Catra- "talk to Blithe; pretty sure your girl's easier to work with."

Catra frowned. "Who’s Blithe?"

He returned the face. "Jeoff Blithe? The guy who waited half an hour behind the front door ta'scare you?"

Glimmer blinked. She and Catra shared a bewildered look. Still clearly befuddled, Catra surprised Glimmer by absentmindedly taking the helmet from her head. She made off with a dubious, "'Blithe'? What the hell."

"...You really thought his name was 'Sea Hawk'?" Rogelio asked Glimmer.

She scratched her head, his real name still sinking in. "I mean…"

"Who looks at a baby an’ calls it ‘Sea Hawk’?" He gestured towards the helmet stands, so Glimmer began to lead him to her pick.

"Well, Catra's name is kinda weird, too, if you think about it." Oh, my God! An actual conversation!

"Her real name's Catrina."

Glimmer stopped, almost causing Rogelio to knock into her. "You're kidding me."

He nodded, a little downcast. "Sure am. Sorry to disappoint. She started sayin’ 'Catra' was a nickname when we started ta’call her 'Meow-Meow'." At this, he almost gave her a full-on smile.

_“Meow-Meow?”_ Glimmer hollered. She couldn’t believe it—she hit the motherfucking _jackpot!_ _“Please_ tell me more.”

Rogelio snickered. “Where do I even start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming this far with me! We are in chapter 12 of VaMB, so that marks this chapter as the completion of the double-rainbow! I've been changing the colours of each document to a colour of the gay pride flag in order from red to purple, so it creates a full flag every six chapters. Happy Pride, all! Remember that we wouldn't be here without Black trans women and lesbians, very prominently Marsha P. Johnson, the mayor of Christopher Street, and Stormé DeLarverie, the guardian of the lesbians. Fight on!


	13. "Fresh-baked girlfriend!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys tell me this ISNT the quickest update yall have ever seen me post
> 
> most of this was written, read, and revised past 10PM! a lot of the work i did during the daytime was sketching out scenes of parts of the campus. im sorry :)

**adora the explorer**

**Yesterday** 1:09AM

I think Lonnie's definitely gonna sue the Etheria building

th whoel buildijg

Yeah, Roge said Kyle had a dream about being trapped on the roof

He woke up and he thought he was still on it

LMAO

He tried to roll off the bed and steamrolled Roge over and over again

if kyle htinks hes on a riif and troes to roll off it i dnot think thts the etheroa buldings fault

wait roge texts yuo?

how cime he doeant txt me

Probably because he doesn’t have your new number

Plus, you make him talk to you in Spanish every time!

not tru

Is, too!

teh ndxt time i tlak to him it wnot b in slanish j watch

👁👄👁

ew?

I'm watching.

**Yesterday** 10:43PM

You left Glim at some store?????

ya

??????? Catra!!!! No!!!

she wad callign me names

What? You call her names all the time!

and?

OMG

She didn't!

didnt waht

She called u meowmeow didn't she?

**Yesterday** 10:48PM

HAHAHAHAVOALVZQQO SHE DID!!!

whatever i picked her up after anyway

sea threatened to remove my discount

What, no typos Meowmeow?

LOL “GOTTEM”

**Yesterday** 10:59PM

Aww, you got her a helmet? 🥺

Catra why don't I get a helmet I'm your roommate ☹

cos u think rdiding a motorcycile is the samme thing as ridinf swifie

stop typinf if ur trying to bring up horsepowrr weve been overthis

😟

if u wnat a helmet so badlu thn get ur own

But Glim said you made her let you pay for hers!!

No fweebie fow Adowa uwu?

if my answer wasnst no befor tht mssage then it is now

What if I send a pic of me going 🥺

even worse

_adora the explorer sent a photo._

adora yuor FOREHEAD

It’s because I have a big brain!!!!!

thers no way ur foreheds gonnanfit in a helmet im sory

u shuold unlock ur telekinss powrrs so u can float urself places nstead

🧠🕴

**Today** 7:16 PM

Im gonna grab my stuff and climb onto the roof tonight

Notifications are off so dont worrh if i dont reply

❤❤❤😺

Take care, Catra

I love you!

yuo better

😁

Let me know when you get back.

ok

_Read 7:29PM_

She pressed the button down with a quiet _click_ and her camcorder flickered to life.

 _Half life,_ Catra noted. _Not bad._

She packed the camera and a small tripod into her satchel bag. Then, she rummaged around in her desk's bottom drawer and uncovered a travel-sized sketchbook beneath her papers. She tucked that into her bag, too, along with a couple pencils and erasers. She tossed her phone in there along with a bottle of water.

Stalling herself, she decided to tune her guitar before she tucked it into its hard case and latched it shut. She didn't expect herself to play tonight, but it was always helpful to look like she was busy with rehearsal. She strapped it onto her bike and locked the door before she left.

Once outside, Catra pedalled hard, fueled by the anxiety coiling in her chest. It was late enough for night to fall but early enough that people haven’t gotten kicked out of any buildings and been sent meandering around the streets yet—a perfect evening for a bike ride through the campus. Still, her bag weighed heavy with expectation in contents. It had been a while.

She zipped past the iron and brick fences and through the park, passing by a couple doing gross couple things (holding hands). Yuck. She crossed a few more streets before a row of bollards came into view. Catra slapped one of them as she rode by, then regretfully wiped her hand on her sweater.

"Catra, darling." As she walked her bike to the rack near the theater, DT appeared at the doorway. They smiled pleasantly, oozing with eloquence. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

She undid her bike lock from under the saddle and began wrapping it around the bars. “I could ask you the same thing. What happened to needing your beauty sleep?”

“I _prefer_ getting my beauty sleep, kitten, I don’t _need_ it.” They assessed her snidely. “Unlike someone here.”

Catra growled, yanking at the straps around her guitar case. “What’s your problem?”

“What’s my problem,” DT huffed. “If you must know, my _problem_ is that there have been some delinquents breaking into the theater and-” They put a delicate hand to their forehead, brows curling as they choked out their next words. “Oh, it’s _horrible!_ These recreant vandals have been terrorizing my set before disappearing without a trace to follow! _Assholes!_ All of you!” They turned to the night scene, shaking a fist at the sky.

“You’re keeping watch?” she asked, surprised they’d take the time.

“Ugh, of _course_ I am, kitten. My morals may be numbered, but this is just _unacceptable.”_ They inhaled a prompt breath, recomposing themselves. “So, I’m afraid that I cannot let you into the building.”

“What?” Catra shot up, her half-secured guitar forgotten on her bike.

DT held up a hand, tutting. “No, Catra. This decision is final.”

“DT-”

“I take this position very seriously, kitten. I have not spent the last two days volunteering my own precious time to guard one of the entrances like some- some-” they sneered- “some _hired hand_ instead of resting like the lead I truly am— _just_ to allow bodies in because I _know_ them.”

Catra glared. “Do you really think I’m gonna screw with your set? I was here three days ago with your crew!”

They shook their head. “Only official members of our team are being let in, but even at night, we’ve decided to insist upon a _strict_ whitelist.”

“But-”

“Why are you even here, Catra?” DT eyed her, skeptical. “I’ve never seen you so late after hours.”

Catra sighed. “I…” She straightened her back, sensing herself beginning to curl inwards. “This is the highest building that gives students access to the top.” She shrugged a shoulder, unsure of whether she wanted them to understand. “Y’know.”

DT’s eyes widened, remembering the vague habit she told them a while back. Their brows furrowed as they glanced around and pressed their lips together, thoughtful. Catra saw them rubbing absentmindedly their fingers together. A beat passed before they leaned in, voice low. “If you can find a reason why I’d let you in for that long, then… yes. Free of charge," they added somewhat reluctantly.

“Damn…” Catra made a fist, squeezing her palm absentmindedly. “I forgot my jacket? Or something?”

They sighed. “No. A handful of our Igors are doing their rounds inside. I would just ask them to fetch it for you or escort you to wherever it is.”

“I gotta use the bathroom?”

“For an hour? You’d be better off going to a doctor than a theater.” DT placed a few fingers over their mouth. “Oops. The sass just comes out; it’s not personal, darling.”

“I know.” Catra sighed. “No ideas?”

They looked at her, as apologetic as they could get—which, with the light of the lobby soberly glowing from behind them, wasn’t so bad. “None that wouldn’t cut your time short. I’m sorry, kitten.”

She nodded, already repacking her guitar. She didn’t really feel like saying much else.

DT silently watched her for a minute before speaking up. “Are your dorms…?”

“No. They’ve been locked up since some guys threw a party up there.”

They scoffed. “Men.”

Catra only nodded again, wanting to leave before the stress and anxiety welled up. She momentarily forgot her combination and fumbled with the lock.

“Is, er…” They started unsurely.

She acknowledged how difficult it must’ve been to try and provide support, but she really just wished they would shut up. She unlocked the cord and snatched it off the bars.

“What of the apartment buildings?”

Catra paused in her crouched position. “What do you mean?”

“Your, er… your ‘girlfriend’, was it? Glitters.”

“Yeah?”

“Would she not be able to—what’s that word—‘help’? Assist you in some way?” DT looked pleased with their suggestion, hands daintily put together in front of them.

"I don't feel like explaining." Catra rubbed her eyes, feeling exhausted. “She doesn’t know.”

“She doesn’t-?” Realization struck them. “Ah, so you two _are_ fake?”

She wasn’t surprised that DT caught on. Her and Glimmer’s acting was _shit._ “Keep quiet about it.”

DT hummed, looking smug for a moment before softening up. “Oh, alright. Just this once because I _can_ be a ‘good person’ when a situation calls for it. This dynamic is _very_ interesting, I must admit. Your pairing certainly made the distinct lunch at IHOP worth my time.”

“Save it for yourself.” Catra kicked her pedals into position, rolling her shoulders. “See you, DT.”

“Break a leg, kitten.” They wagged their fingers as a farewell. “And take care. I want as many smiling faces in the crowd on opening night!”

She huffed a laugh and kicked off, going back the way she came.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

...So how the hell did she end up at Glimmer’s parking lot?

Catra had zoned out halfway through her ride to the dorms and found herself staring down the double doors of the apartment lobby. She checked her phone. It was almost nine.

 _Half an hour?_ she thought. _How have I biked for half an hour and not notice?_

Catra groaned, twisting her bike around and wishing she was smart enough to have brought more water. She sat on her saddle for a minute, trying to catch her breath. As she did so, though, she spotted a vending machine inside, partly hidden behind a potted tree. She squinted and saw that it sold drinks.

Catra sighed and dropped her head onto her handlebars. Just her luck. She locked her bike up and dragged her guitar in with her, hoping no one would question what a random sweaty girl was doing alone in the lobby.

 _What kind of vending machine sells two brands of lemonade but no water?_ she thought. Begrudgingly, she bought the lemonade and greedily gulped it down, the cool liquid giving her some relief. _Stupid._

“Catra?”

She almost spit her drink out as a voice called her name with the utmost distress. She whipped her head around and-

“What the hell! What are you doing here?” Catra squawked.

“What am _I_ doing here?” Glimmer said, rattled. “I live here! What are _you_ doing here!”

“I was just-!” She came to a screeching halt.

Glimmer was- she was only wearing a long, plain button-up. And the top few buttons were undone.

“What are you wearing!” Catra looked away, desperately pressing her drink to her face. “You’re just walking around this place wearing _that?”_

“W-w-well-!” As if finally remembering herself, Glimmer stuttered relentlessly. “I-I’m just get- I’m getting th-the laundry! N-nobody has a-a reason to be walking around the ap-apartment right now! Especially not _you!”_

“I know! I was just leaving,” she grumbled. She hefted her guitar up and made her way to the doors.

“G-” Glimmer coughed, embarrassed. “Good night…”

“...Yeah."

As Catra leaned on her arm to push the door open, she remembered the things in her bag.

 _Oh, God, not now!_ she pleaded herself. Still, she took her weight off the bar and inhaled a deep breath. _Come on, they’re just legs. You have legs, too, dumbass._

“Hey… Sparkles?”

Glimmer squeaked. Catra heard something hit the wall. “Wh-what is it?”

She turned, though her gaze was trained on the ground. “I… I need a favour.” She looked up and kept her eyes on Glimmer’s little ponytail, trying to keep her tone even. “...Please.”

Glimmer raised her eyebrows, her blush making her cheeks glow. "What do you need?"

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

So, yeah. Stupid-ass Catra found herself standing awkwardly in an elevator with Glimmer, who had thrown on a pair of sweatpants fresh from the laundry. Catra very insistently watched the numbers climb to the fourth floor, clutching her now-empty bottle of lemonade. The elevator dinged and its doors slid open.

Glimmer went first, carrying a basket and a stuffed pillowcase of clean clothes. Catra grit her teeth at the stickiness in the air and picked her guitar up, trailing behind her.

Catra expected her to put the basket down and pull out some keys. Instead, Glimmer kicked her door a couple of times, causing the handle to jiggle, before it opened.

“Fresh-baked clothes!” Bow cheered, moving out of her way.

Glimmer cleared her throat and jerked her chin towards Catra.

“Fresh-baked girlfriend!” Bow beamed at her. How a morning person like him could feel so happy right now was a mystery. “Come inside!”

Catra looked to Glimmer, who went right on in.

 _I should’ve left when I could,_ she thought regretfully. She shuffled behind.

“What brings you here, Catra?” Bow asked from the kitchen, already pulling out a mug. “Do you want anything to drink? Eat? We still have some cupcakes if you want 'em."

“Oh, uh. I'm good on the cupcakes. My minifridge is stuffed. Uh, could I grab some water?” She closed the door behind her but stayed standing on the welcome mat. Stiffly, she set her guitar down.

“Of course!” Bow laughed. “You’re not here to help fold clothes, are you?”

Catra scratched her head. “Um, no, I’m, uh…”

“She’s just gonna visit the roof for a bit.” Glimmer had set the clothes down and was rummaging through the closet. “I’ll be back to help with the clothes after I get her there.”

“The roof?” Bow tilted his head as he handed her some water. “Why?”

“It’s…” Catra bit her cheek, accepting the mug. “Nothing.”

"Oh." He raised his hands and went back into the kitchen. “Alright, that’s cool. But you can’t just leave her there, Glimmer. Visitors can’t go around unattended.”

Catra paled. She tried to douse her anxiety with a gulp of water.

“Mm, right,” Glimmer grumbled, zipping up a sweater. Bow gave her a set of keys and she stuffed them into her pocket. “I’ll just grab my earphones or something. Is that okay, Catra?”

She wiped her mouth, having finished her drink in a panic. “I guess.” It… wasn’t, but she didn’t want to be picky. She didn’t have the right.

“Okay, give me a second.” Glimmer vanished into the hallway, the sounds of a door opening and closing following soon after.

Catra pulled at her collar. “Sorry… sorry. I know this is weird.”

Bow only smiled at her, taking the cup from her hands. “Don’t worry about it. Adora’s said that you like high places, so you’re welcome to come by whenever you need it. If not the roof, then the balcony… we can shut the blinds if it helps. The fourth floor isn't so high up compared to the roof, but…"

Catra gawked at him, dumbstruck. She picked at a stupefied emotion that knew she wouldn’t be able to express, idly passing him the empty bottle in her hands as he reached for it. “Um…” She reduced her unsuspected puzzlement to a simple nod. She knew she would never have it in herself to take up the offer, but genuine or not, it was… bizarre. It was a small gesture, but it felt huge to her. She tapped her foot to control her nerves.

Glimmer stepped out from the corridor, her hair pulled into a cleaner ponytail. She was wrapping her earphones around her fist. "Okay, let's go."

"Can I leave this here?" Catra gestured to her guitar and admitted, "I don't… actually need it."

"Sure! I'll take good care of it. Look!" Bow happily brought it to the couch, preparing pillows and a blanket for it.

Catra couldn't _not_ appreciate how he went out of his way to try and make her feel comfortable. It was an odd method, sure, but still.

Glimmer snickered. "Bow, don't be weird. Come on, babe."

They both looked at each other, surprised at Glimmer's ease with the pet name, before the shorter girl ducked her head and hurried into the hall. Even more awkward than earlier, Catra waved to Bow and shut the door.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

"So, um…" Glimmer pursed her lips. "Do you… go to roofs often?"

Catra gave her a sidelong glance, somewhat relieved at her nervousness. "Sort of. Hardly find the time lately."

"Mm. Cool." She popped her mouth and rocked back and forth, looking at her shoes. Silence stretched on for another slow two floors until she said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but… you can let me know when you wanna go up there again. It's nice up there. I think so, at least."

Again, Catra was struck with another bolt of surprise. Her chest clenched in guilty gratitude. Naturally, she tried to avoid acknowledging it. "You've been up there?"

Glimmer clasped her hands behind her back, looking up at the floor number. "Mhm. Residents aren't usually allowed on the roof, but I go with Bow sometimes when our tenant needs his help with a repair. The view is nice." She stretched her hand forward, sweeping it through the air. "This is an old building, but it's a tall one. There's hardly anything blocking your view in the area, so you'll see a lot of the north campus just from here."

Catra looked at her, feeling a sense of peace despite her predicament. "Hey," she said softly. Her body reacted before her head could, reaching out and buttoning up Glimmer's shirt. "If you're not gonna zip your sweater all the way up, at least do your shirt. It's windy tonight."

Glimmer stared at her, something in her expression making Catra feel jittery. "Catra?"

"Mm?" Finished with buttoning Glimmer's shirt up, she pulled her hands back and shoved them into her pockets. She coiled them into fists, hoping to hold herself steady. Fixing Glimmer’s shirt made her feel insecure about her own hoodie, but she considered it was too late to try and adjust it out of worry that she’d appear too unsettled.

The elevator climbed another floor.

She heard Glimmer exhale and shuffle her feet. "I'm sorry."

Catra blinked. She eyed her strangely. "What?"

"You're, uh…" Glimmer scratched her neck, accidentally pulling a few strands from her hair tie. "You're not the terrible person I thought you were."

"Gee, thanks."

Glimmer waved her hands. "No, no! That came out wrong. I meant that… I know you do a lot of random nice things, but I never thought that they were genuine or _meaningful_ to you. I know this sounds _horrible_ and I'm sorry, but I…"

Catra met her eyes. Glimmer faltered for a moment, so she looked back down, flustered.

"I-I didn't think you were someone who cared about anything, especially not people that _I_ care about, too. I guess… I didn't trust you with my friends—including, you know…"

"Yeah," Catra said, her voice hoarse. They were almost at the top. "I wouldn’t, either."

"But I shouldn't have kept that anger going! Adora's forgiven you, everyone else has forgiven you—like I said a couple days ago, Bow likes having you around. I'm sorry for taking so long to realize how stupid I've been. I'm sorry for giving you a hard time. You're… a pretty good person."

Catra couldn't help it—she just gaped at the girl. When the elevator doors opened, she was still just staring at her, watching her tug at her bangs and making more of her hair fall loose.

Glimmer stepped forward. "Let's, uh… let's go. There's another stairwell-"

"Sparkles." Catra grabbed her wrist, stopping her in place.

Glimmer looked back at her, gingerly moving her hand to hold Catra’s. Catra was met with the determination and repentance written on Glimmer's face, giving her a warm feeling where they touched. 

_Woah._

She unknowingly persuaded Catra’s mouth to curl upwards ever-so-slightly. "Thanks. I'm… sorry, too. I gave you every reason to stay pissed off and I knew it. I guess… I guess I used you as a punching bag—s-sometimes literally. Like, I have no idea where this is coming from, but I'm sorry, too."

She chuckled behind a small yawn. "It's been a weird week, but the apology's been a long time coming." Glimmer smiled back, her already kind features mellowing further. After a squeeze, she pulled her hand free and offered it to shake. "Friends?"

Catra pretended to hesitate. "Well, I wouldn't take it _that_ far…"

"Catra!" Glimmer punched her shoulder, grinning.

She snickered and made her own less serious proposal. "Girlfriends?"

Glimmer laughed—the kind of laugh that Catra didn’t realize she needed to hear. She shook her hand, confirming, "Girlfriends. I'm not gonna stop calling you Meow-Meow just because I apologized, by the way."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair and striding ahead into the hall. "Nevermind, I hate you again."

"Hey, you get to call me 'Sparkles'!" Glimmer jogged after her. "Catra! Are you even listening to me? Oh, my God, slow down, you're going the wrong way!"

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

They made it up the final stairwell after Catra allowed herself to be wrangled. She watched with delight as Glimmer pulled her pockets inside-out trying to find the keys before casually presenting it to her, hanging them on a finger.

“How did you-?” Glimmer snatched the keys with narrowed eyes. Catra glimpsed a hint of a smile before she turned to unlock the door to the roof. “Hmph.”

As she watched her turn the key, Catra began to feel worried. “I might be there awhile. Are you sure this is okay?”

Glimmer shrugged. “If it gets that late, I’ll just give you the keys and head down. You can pretend you’re sleeping over and got lost.”

“And ended up on the roof?”

She pushed the door open, letting in a gust of wind. “I mean, that intern at the Etheria building did.”

“You know that was the same guy who sang you happy birthday, right?”

“You’re kidding me!”

Catra followed her onto the roof, already relishing the isolation. “Nope, that was him. This is your last chance to tell me to go away, you know.”

Glimmer gave her a look. “Why…? Oh, am I bothering you?” She fidgeted with the keys. “I can just give these to you now and-”

“No, you shouldn’t.” Catra pushed Glimmer’s hand down, urging her to keep the keys. “Sorry this is so weird, but I guess just… let’s just sit on opposite ends. Makes no difference to me.” It was a slight lie, but Catra’s done this on the side of highways before. One girl on the other end of a roof was hardly a distraction.

“Okay. I’m gonna be over there when you’re done.” Glimmer pointed to a lower level of the roof behind the shed, already making her way to the stairs.

Catra waited until she sat on the cement extending inwards from the parapet and untangled her earphones, looking at the city below, before making her way to the other side. It was a large area to cover, reassuring Catra that she could really be alone there.

She leaned forward against the low wall, inhaling the cool air. Glimmer was right—the view was gorgeous from up there. She could see stores finishing up for the day, their lights flicking out one by one; the streets were a little more active now, but so high up, the most she could hear were engines rumbling. The campus was loosely lit up by bright red and pale yellow lights. Catra had missed being able to stand motionless and still have the wind run through her hair.

She slipped her bag off and set up the tripod. She twisted the camcorder securely and flipped the screen, scrutinizing its angle; it was parallel to the parapet, so half of her face was lit up by the light below. She sat down on the ledge, leaning against the metal railing, and sighed. Nervously, she looked back to Glimmer’s direction. Seeing and hearing no one, Catra took a deep breath and pressed record.

“Hey. I forgot the date—I think it’s a Tuesday—and it’s too-late-to-be-doing-this o’clock.” Catra scratched her nose, surveying the city below to avoid having to look at the camera. “It’s been a couple months, so I’ve got a lot to catch up on.

“Adora went through with that ‘semester at sea’ thing and she got some organizations to sponsor, like, half the trip. You know what their money went to? Adora hanging out in Lesbos for a week straight- er, you know what I mean. She’s joining her cruise again tomorrow. I can’t believe she got away with it.

“Mm… update on how things are going with her: I mean, it’s good. It’s not like before, but to be honest, I’ve been thinking and-” Catra rubbed her forehead, trying to get the words out. “I don’t _want_ to go back to how it was before grad. I think I said in my last entry that Adora and I talked stuff out—how I left without telling her, how… how Weaver died so she was scared I did, too, after cutting everybody off—but…

“Okay, so I got a new therapist, this lady named Light Hope. I switched about two months ago. Real eccentric, sometimes I wonder if she’s actually a therapist or some sort of hologram AI that broke out of the lab, but that’s probably why I stuck with her. I talked to her about ‘Adora’—in our sessions, I use ‘Gaye’ and it’s hilarious—and, ah… I probably need to talk to Adora again. I don’t think I was completely transparent with her or myself the first time. It’s probably also why I don’t feel comfortable visiting Razz and Mara again.

“Nice. Enough about Adora. I’m bored of her now.” Catra blew a raspberry and thumped her head against the railing. “Like I said I would in the last entry, I’m spending more time with Scorpia and Entrapta and putting in, like, the effort to enjoy it. I think it’s paying off ‘cause I just got Sparkles to apologize to me- oh, hell. Yeah. I’m gonna get back to that.” She groaned, pulling at her hair. “God, why is this so hard? I should’ve just brought my guitar up here and played a song or something, heck.

“Whatever. Spent more time with friends. I’m actually getting along with them now instead of just tuning them out until it’s convenient. I communicate, tell ‘em I appreciate them somehow. Yay, growth. It’s hard and I hate it a lot, but I’m starting to get to the point where it… almost seems worth it? Which makes me really freaking glad I _didn’t_ make that bet with Adora.

“I’ve been doing more gigs.” Catra shrugged. “That’s the only update on that.

“The weird thing is Sparkles. Hate that girl. I hate her.” She shook her head. “But for some stupid reason, I don’t believe myself when I say that anymore. We started fake-dating… exactly a week ago. Oh, my God, yeah. Tiny Tuesday; I wonder if Bow got a box. I’ve had to pretend to get along with Sparkles for the past week and it hurts to say this, but…” Catra caught her expression on the screen and let out a laugh. “You know what, I’m not even gonna say that she’s not awful company; she learned about the damn nickname from Rogelio and I think it’s my name on her phone now. It’s so bad and I wanna be angry, but I can’t.

“Sparkles apologized for the past two-ish years, though—maybe ‘cause I looked so pathetic when I asked to go to the roof. I said sorry, too. It was kind of half-assed. I’m no Dr. Phil or whatever, but I think we’ll still need time to… I dunno. We’ll just need time.

“Ha! Look at me, working on my interpersonal skills, unlearning the toxic behaviours I grew up on, and quoting my therapist. You’re still a shit person, Catra, but you’re getting there.” She tilted her head back and pinched her nose. “Jesus, I almost referred to myself in third-person. Fuck you, Adora; fuck you, Scorpia; and fuck you, Sea Hawk. I’ll make a ‘fuck you’ compilation someday.”

Catra laughed. “You’d think sitting in front of a camera and talking to myself would get easier. Nope. Sparkles is on the other side of the roof probably thinking I’m a weirdo—ditto—and _maybe_ it’s a little distracting. Whatever, I got this done. After-” she checked the time- “nearly three hours, I found a legally-accessed roof and ranted to myself until my mouth went dry. Hooray.

“...Sorry for taking so long. I gave up on these entries, but things are changing again. I don’t know why, but it makes me wanna give it another shot.” She pursed her lips and saluted the camera. “See you.”

She cut the recording and let out a huge sigh of relief. _Ugh, thank God that’s over._

Unenthusiastic to watch her video, Catra packed her things up. She was very strongly tempted to sketch out the view and help her head relax, but she felt bad enough intruding on Glimmer. She stood behind the parapet once more, taking in the sights and the senses, before turning on her heels and marching back.

As she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she noticed that Glimmer had fallen asleep. She snickered, prodding her shoulder. “Sparkles. Hello?”

Nothing.

“No way did you knock out on the roof of your fucking apartment.” Catra nudged her a little harder, catching Glimmer’s phone just before it hit the ground. Glimmer limply rubbed her face but continued to snooze. She snapped a photo and sent it to Glimmer’s number. 

Catra scratched her head, indecisive as she looked Glimmer up and down. She seemed comfortable with her arms crossed and hood up. They might as well stay for a while.

Catra sat on the floor and started scribbling in her sketchbook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Tomorrow (June 28) is the 51st anniversary of day 1 of the Stonewall riots. Because of the pandemic, Stonewall Inn risks permanent closure. They've reached their GoFundMe goal, but if you're interested in donating or spreading the word, [here's the link](https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-stonewall-inn). Thank you again to Nny11 for showing me HTML codes; I can't be stopped.
> 
> Pride was a riot and I hold BLM in the same light. Fight on!


	14. "You're smiling."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😳😳

"Sorry," someone said softly. "You're not getting kidnapped or anything. Go back to sleep."

Glimmer blinked rapidly, trying to wake herself up. Hair tickled her face as a light flickered to life and revealed a familiar white ceiling.

She squinted. "Huh?"

"You don't listen, do you?" Her voice was awfully quiet for sounding so close.

"Mmph." Gazing up, Glimmer distantly noticed that Catra was carrying her bridal-style through her apartment. She pressed her face into Catra's shoulder, comfortable and sleepy; she smelled of something that reminded her of teakwood, amber, and sandalwood—earthy and low, but distantly sharp and a little sweet. Catra's hold on her tightened a bit. 

"I'm gonna guess the door with a bow and arrow on it is Bow's room."

"Mhm."

Catra only chuckled. Glimmer was carefully rocked to the side as a door opened.

Her hair continued to brush Glimmer's face as she felt herself being laid down on her bed, sinking into the pillows. The mattress lifted as Catra crawled off. Glimmer felt a chill settle where Catra was pressed against her earlier.

"Whuh…?" she asked in a daze.

Catra shut the curtains, so the only light in the room came from the hall. Glimmer's tired eyes appreciated it, especially as she continued to try and look around. After some shuffling, though, her stringed lights turned on. It was startling, but she thought that her lights illuminated Catra pleasantly.

"Oh, fairy lights." Glimmer blurrily saw a grin on Catra's face. "Why am I not surprised?"

Glimmer rubbed her eyes. She tried to sit up but was urged back down with a hand on her head.

"Go back to sleep, Sparkles. It's past every five-year-old's bedtime, meaning it's past yours, too."

"Mrhgph," she argued.

"What, is it the lights?" Catra moved to the other side of her bed, patting down the blanket that Glimmer threw off that morning. "Should I turn them off? Hah, sorry. I just wanted to push some buttons."

Glimmer rolled over, earning a complaint out of Catra that she ignored. "Wha'happ'n?"

She snorted. "You fell asleep on the roof. You're lucky I left my guitar here 'cause I would've chosen it over you."

Glimmer only squinted at her. "Hng…"

"You know what," Catra said, harried, "just go to sleep. Stop trying to talk to me like a Minecraft villager. It's uncanny."

Her blanket was pulled from beneath her. After being flicked in the air, it gently fell over top of Glimmer. She whined and swished her feet around, hot.

Catra groaned. "Fine. Sit up."

She did, then purposely leaned her weight on Catra as she sat next to her.

"Fuck, Sparkles, could you not?" Though it was a complaint, Catra said it with a subdued timbre and kept her volume down. She struggled against Glimmer's body as she tried to unzip her sweater. Limp and lethargic, Glimmer just flopped with the motions.

"Mhgmhmgm," she chattered. She was pretty sure she could converse properly, but in her drowsiness, it was a lot more entertaining to mumble nonsense. "Hmghumuh."

"If you make this any harder for me, I'm gonna bite you. Bow's asleep and Adora's halfway across the world, so they can't save you this time." 

Glimmer stopped acting up. She wasn't sure if she believed her, but it wasn't the time to test Catra's audacity—even in her state, she could recognize that. At last, Catra was able to pull her sweater off.

"There." She poked Glimmer's head, causing her to fall back onto her pillow. She pulled her sheet up high enough to cover her face and turned off the lights. "Night."

Glimmer wailed again, flipping the blanket off her head. "Pants."

"Wh-! Th-that's a you-problem!" She could hear things on her desk move around a little frantically before footsteps began towards the door.

"Ok'y," Glimmer said. Artlessly, she started to wiggle around until it somehow pulled her too-warm sweatpants off. "G'night."

She could hardly see, but her Catra-sense told her that the girl was rolling her eyes. "Night, Sparkles. And… thanks. Again."

"Welcome," she mumbled, throwing a thumbs-up into the air. She wasn't very certain why Catra was thanking her when she was the one who carried her to her room and tucked her in. Oh, well. Glimmer remembered getting halfway through the words "goodbye" before drifting off into a smooth, dreamless sleep.

She woke up before her alarm the next morning. She noticed that her phone somehow found its way to the charger and hummed, acknowledging that it must've been Catra. Glimmer silently thanked her before turning it on.

Speak of the devil—the first notifications on her phone were texts from Catra.

**💙 meowmeow 💛**

**Yesterday** 10:01PM

_ 💙 meowmeow 💛 sent a photo. _

**Yesterday** 10:37PM

ur breaething at 31bpm

tht mesns u breathr in time with hitme baby oen more tiem

_ 💙 meowmeow 💛 sent a video. _

but aslo best of btoh worlds

_ 💙 meowmeow 💛 sent a video. _

**Yesterday** 10:45PM

_ 💙 meowmeow 💛 sent a photo. _

yu sleep like. Arock

**Yesterday** 10:49PM

whcrthrejsujlesses

why r there sunglassed on teh rooof

**Yesterday** 10:53PM

_ 💙 meowmeow 💛 sent a photo. _

two bros chillon on a rooftop no fwwt apaet cos theyre girlfrends

**Yesterday** 11:23PM

ifrogot my guitae

it lookrd like a persin sleepign on teh couch i diddnt notice it sorru

In order, the photos were: Glimmer sitting in the last position she remembered before falling asleep to her music; her with a bunch of erasers and pencils balanced on her head and shoulders; and Catra with her arm around Glimmer, both of them wearing goofy sunglasses and appearing as if they truly  _ were _ two bros chilling on a rooftop.

Glimmer found herself giggling at six in the morning. She saved the last two photos and the videos of her sleeping with "Baby One More Time" and the Hannah Montana theme song playing in the background. 

**💙 meowmeow 💛**

**Today** 6:14AM

CSKKFAKF???? 💀💀 WHY DID YOU JUST LET ME SLEEP ON THE ROOF LIKE THAT

Idk what ur laughing about tho 🤔 i look good in all of these 😌💅

Are u coming over to get ur guitar?

It struck her as odd to be texting Catra that way, but it didn’t make her nearly as uncomfortable as she thought it would. She smiled. It wouldn't be the smoothest road to walk down, but she was glad that she apologized and accompanied Catra last night. The fake dating thing felt a lot less useless.

_ Oh,  _ that's _ why she said thank you,  _ she realized.  _ Duh. You're welcome. _

Yawning, she sent the videos to the BFS group chat with the message, “Look at what Catra did to me 😔😔 she said i was breathing in time with the music". Then, because she didn't want to hear her alarm ring, she kicked her sheets off and started the day.

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

"Morning," Glimmer said, now fully dressed as she emerged into the kitchen. She sat at the island, trying to wake herself up as she blankly watched Bow put together a bacon-and-egg breakfast.

Bow was at the stove. He was happily scrambling eggs in a bowl when he turned and said, "Good morning!" He lit up, regarding Glimmer. "Wow, you're dressed up. Are you going somewhere?"

"What do you mean?" She looked down at herself wearing a turtleneck vest underneath a button-up tucked into her jeans. "I’m not  _ that _ dressed-up… am I?"

"For someone with two classes in the morning and a free rest of her day, sort of." Then, Bow smirked at her. "Do you have a date?"

Glimmer bristled. Realizing she could be making coffee instead of sitting there awkwardly, she dragged her feet to a cupboard, powered by the need to keep herself busy. "No, I just… felt like it."

"Alright, if you say so," he said coyly. "But, for the record, you only do your hair like that when you wanna look nice for somebody."

Glimmer touched her hair, surprised to feel that it was swept to the side. When had she done that? She shrugged it off. She was allowed to want to be cuter than she usually was now and again!

They fell into silence for a moment, the only sounds coming from the sizzling bacon and Glimmer, a little self-conscious, fumbling with a coffee filter. Finally, it seemed like Bow couldn't hold himself back.

"So… how was the roof?" More genuinely, he asked, "Is Catra okay?"

"I think so? I fell asleep in the first, like, twenty minutes, so I'm not too sure." She put the filter into the basket and shut the lid, heading to the sink with an empty glass. "She- oh! She carried me back to bed," she remembered, feeling both touched and embarrassed.

_ "Aww!" _ Bow said, a hand over his grin. "She did?"

Glimmer flushed. Did she really need to admit that out loud? "Yeah. She seemed alright then, but I was half-asleep when it happened. I'll check in with her."

"I hope she's okay. I wanted to give her a hug last night, but I'm pretty sure she would've killed me—or worse, run away," he said, chuckling but slightly heartbroken. After a pause, Bow coyly regarded Glimmer from the corner of his eye. "I can't believe Catra serenaded you on the roof."

Glimmer laughed, pouring water into the brewer. "I can't believe I  _ fell asleep _ on the roof! She started balancing stuff on me and put on these shades she found lying around." She winced, glad to have washed her face. "That's a little gross, actually. Do you want coffee?"

She turned to see endearment in abundance on Bow's face. It probably wasn't because the bacon was beginning to burn.

"What?"

He shook his head, calmly salvaging their breakfast. "She got you to laugh in the morning and she's not even here."

She blinked. He was right: she wasn't a morning person. Getting her in a good mood early in the day wasn't the easiest thing to do—especially not when she needed caffeine. She blamed Catra's Vine reference.

Glimmer returned her attention to the brewer, biting down an embarrassed smile. "Is it a yes or a no to coffee?"

"No, thank you." His happy little smile leaked into his voice.

Once again, Glimmer felt guilt creeping up on her. Now that she and Catra had agreed to start being friends, though, it wasn't so bad. They wouldn't have to act completely differently after breaking up post-wedding. It didn't feel like a total lie anymore.

Before she knew it, she was humming as she put sugar into her cup while waiting for her coffee to brew. She stopped abruptly, startled.

"Oh," she said under her breath.

Her phone buzzed. It was Meow-Meow!

**💙 meowmeow 💛**

**Today** 6:33AM

idk i kost a lot of braincwlls last night

I didn't think u had any

liek ur any better

ya id like my gutar bcak

can i drip by aroud 1

Yeah ill be here

ok tnx baby

Yuck 🤮🤮

ya

😂😂😂

dont

😗👉👈

wtf

"Glimmer, your coffee."

She snapped back to attention and saw Bow grinning at her. Her coffee was done.

"Is that Catra?" he asked. "You're smiling."

She snickered, waving her hand dismissively. "Quiet, you. She's just weird sometimes," she reasoned, pouring herself a cup. She was being honest! She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before, but she could irritate Catra all day just by sending her emojis.

"Mm, I see." Bow served up two steaming plates of eggs and bacon, clearly struggling to subdue his smile. "Does it feel like a buttered toast day to you?"

Glimmer stroked her chin. "Yes…" she said wisely. "It does."

He gave her a thumbs-up as he took a strip of bacon with him before walking around the island. Passing by the half-wall, Bow yelped. Glimmer jumped and turned around to see him staring at the couch.

"Did Catra sleep over?" he asked, voice low. "Who is that?"

Glimmer leaned over the counter and snorted. "That's Catra's guitar."

Bow eyed it for a second longer before breaking into laughter. "Oh, my gosh. I forgot I did that. Why does it look so  _ real?" _

"It's probably your fuzzy sweater on its head." She squinted and tilted her head. "It kind of makes it look like hair. Catra thought it was a person, too, so she left it behind last night."

Bow giggled, placing bread into the toaster. "And they say Wednesdays are boring."

✦ 🐾 ✦ 🐾 ✦

A, "Knock, knock, bitch!" came from the other side of the door. Someone halfheartedly banged on it while jiggling the knob.

Glimmer turned the volume up louder.

"It's the BMPD, open up!"

"As if I'd listen to a pig other than Peppa!" she said.

"Sparkles, let me in!"

She paused her show, twisting around on the bean bag. "Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin!" she quoted.

"Your neighbour's giving me the stink eye, babe. I don't like it!"

Finally relenting, Glimmer walked to the door and unlocked it. Just before Catra could let herself in, she poked her head into the hallway and looked around. She spotted one of her neighbours unlocking their door, paying Catra no mind—but their chihuahua was  _ definitely  _ eyeing her.

"It's only a dog," she said.

"She just looks like that," her neighbour chimed in. "Just a lil' funny-looking baby. Who isn't?"

Catra looked at Glimmer, judgmental. "Yeah, you're right."

She slapped her arm.

Her neighbour laughed and ushered their chihuahua inside. "Afternoon, Brite," they said, then shut the door behind them.

Catra pushed past Glimmer, yawning. She left her shoes by the door.

"Hey- an 'excuse me' would be nice," she said. She locked the door after her.

Catra burped, blowing it in her direction. "'Scuse me."

She fanned the air with her hand, already tired of her company. "I take back yesterday's apology."

"I don't." Catra sat at the foot of the couch, pulling her guitar down. "Still sorry. Which makes me better than you."

Glimmer fought against a smile and lost. She gestured to the kitchen. "Do you want a drink or something?"

"Got any apple juice?" Catra peeked out from under the blanket that Bow used to cover her guitar, somehow already having gotten herself tangled up in it.

"First, you order milk and now, you're asking for apple juice. I can't believe you're the one calling  _ me _ a five-year-old." She opened the fridge, anyway, to check.

"At least I'm not the one who applied to a class that…" Catra started rifling through Glimmer's notes messily laid out on the table, then narrowed her eyes at a page. "Flat out asks you to dismantle racism? Seriously? This entire section is just, 'How to Dismantle Racism in Five Easy Steps'. You pay to be in this class?"

"It was a satirical project! Don't tempt me to drop out."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She hummed, mildly sounding like she wasn't paying so much attention anymore. "Thanks for wearing pants this time. Cute outfit, by the way, babe."

She looked down at her clothes, the combo surprisingly too comfortable to change out of. "Thanks. Is it the window?"

"Huh?" Catra propped herself up on the couch to see into the kitchen.

Glimmer turned and pointed to her chest, roguish and smirking. "The titty window?"

She saw Catra's face quickly redden before she hastily ducked back behind the couch.

Lesbians.

"J-just the fit in general. Nice, uh, hair, too."

"Thanks, Meow-Meow." She counted Catra's grumbling as a victory. "We have orange juice," she said, pulling out a carton.

Catra was silent for a moment. "Does it have the pulp?"

"No."

"Disgusting."

Glimmer glared at her. "You have awful tastes!"

She held up a pair of neon green-and-pink sunglasses—the same one she was wearing in the photo. "Yes, I do."

"Is that the one you found on the roof?" Glimmer decided to pour a glass of milk, impatient. "You kept that thing?"

"Both of them! It was a shitty night, but I got free glasses out of it— _ and _ it's the same as those awful-looking glasses I found back in the theater." She held it up to the light before cleaning its lenses with her shirt. "It's so ugly. I can't help it."

"Catra, that's literally so weird.” She rubbed her face, exasperated. “You're _ so _ weird."

"Some might even say 'queer'. Do you want yours?" From her jacket, Catra pulled out another pair. This time, it was the heart-shaped shades with hot-pink-to-blue reflective lenses that she put on Glimmer.

"That's gross? You don't know where that's been!" She came back to the living room and swatted her hand away. She placed the milk at a relatively safe distance from her notes.

"Uh, hello? It's the bi flag?" Catra waved the shades around. "Here I am, trying to be nice and considerate and shit-"

"That's literally disgusting, Catra, put it away-"

"I cleaned it, though! Spit on it and everything."

"You can't be serious."

"Am, too. Watch-" Catra hacked, holding the shades to her lips.

Glimmer clapped her hand over her mouth.  _ "Please _ do not  _ spit _ in my apartment!"

Catra licked her hand.

She reeled back, screeching,  _ "Catra, I thought we agreed to-!" _

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" she said, howling with laughter. "It was instinct! You have no idea how hard it is _not_ to do that when your hand is _right_ _there!_ It's a conscious thing that I have to figh- _oof!"_

Catra caught a pillow to the face—the one that Glimmer wiped her spit on, obviously. She wanted to feel irritated, but when Catra clutched the pillow in her lap, Glimmer could only watch her in stunned silence. Catra dissolved into laughter, half of which was smothered by the pillow that she would occasionally plant her face in and the other half which was the single occasion that laughter could be called "chortling". Hearing her goofy (and slightly unhinged) laugh, Glimmer started to feel her own giggles bubble up in her chest.

She fell into the same uncontrolled fits, the kind that would die down only to start up again when they looked at each other. It was long after they both forgot what they were laughing over when it diminished to nothing more than stray giggles and hiccups, the intermittent fear that Catra would spit milk everywhere disappearing, as well.

Exhausted glee was written all over Catra's face in bright red. As Glimmer looked at her, that goof's smile still dancing on Catra's mouth, she felt more bubbles rise in her chest—or butterflies in her stomach. She pushed it down, recognizing it as another round of draining hysterics.

"I don't know what you think you're laughing about, Sparkles," Catra said, grinning with her face in her hand.  _ "You _ got sleep last night. I'm tired as hell."

This pulled Glimmer out of her stupor, making her frown. "You didn't sleep?"

"I did for, like, an hour." Catra downed the rest of her drink and stood, stretching. Her stomach showed just beneath the hem of her sweater, but Glimmer kept herself from smacking it the way she would with Bow and Adora by making a tight fist.

She suddenly empathized with why Catra licked her hand.

"Well, see you, then, Sparkles." She started towards the door with her guitar, still wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. “Fucking hell.”

"You're going?" Glimmer asked. She sighed out one final laugh, relieved her lungs could relax.

Catra was crouched down and pulling on a shoe. "Duh. I just came here for my guitar."

"Do you have a ride or are you driving yourself?" she asked, following her to the door.

She looked at Glimmer strangely. "Driving myself as usual. Why?"

"Then take a nap here before you go." She almost couldn't believe that she offered it. "I don't think it's a good idea to drive around on one hour of sleep."

Catra stopped tying her shoe, brows furrowed. "What?"

"Bow has the car, so I can't drive you back…" She paused, realizing she may be grazing Catra's pride, and tried again; this time, it was the challenging tone that they were both more familiar with. "We're friends now, Catra. Friends take care of each other, so you're gonna take a nap here or I'll annoy you until you do." She crossed her arms decisively, staring her down.

"Don't do that," Catra said.

She shook her head. "You just had an entire laughing fit on the floor with nobody to laugh with but me. You're  _ pretty _ out-of-it."

Catra pulled on another shoe, looking bothered. "I'm fine. I got here alive, didn't I?"

"And you got freaked out because a chihuahua looked at you wrong."

"That was-"

"I don't wanna hear it! Just rest!"

"It's not your job to take care of me, Sparkles!" Catra growled, shooting up and looming over Glimmer. "I can do that just fine."

She stood her ground. "Catra, it's, like, ten minutes out of your day. Is there somewhere you need to be so badly that you can't spend a little longer getting some rest?"

Catra scrutinized her, her mouth twisting. "What do you want?"

"What?"

"Why're you acting like that? I didn't ask you to."

Glimmer stared at her. "I told you yesterday that I was sorry for how I acted. You didn't think my apology stopped there, did you?"

For a fleeting moment, Catra seemed like she wanted to say something, but then she snapped her mouth shut and looked away. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she regarded everything but the girl standing in front of her, blue and hazel eyes darting around the room and never staying in the same place for too long.

Glimmer bit her lip. "I'm not gonna make a huge fuss about you taking a break if you really don't want to." She looked up at Catra, hoping she didn't blow her chance at friendship by coming off too strong. "But I wouldn't mind it if you stayed a little longer just to make sure you don't exhaust yourself. Honestly, I'd appreciate the chance to help you out. I-if you'd let me."

_ Shit, this is awkward, _ she thought. She briefly considered letting Catra go, but she knew if it were any other friend, she would still insist that they take a minute to rest. So, she stayed her course.

It took a nerve-wracking second, but Catra finally pulled her eyes from the floor. Something playful but not quite so jovial lit them as if she were trying to muster up some courage. "Scorpia's said that you get into a lot of 'heated class discussions'. How often do you win them?"

Glimmer blinked. "Huh?"

She shrugged. "I'm just saying, you're pretty fucking persuasive when you want to be," she said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.  _ “But  _ I’m leaving if I can’t sleep.”

Glimmer broke out into an almost abashed grin, shaking her head. "You don't make this easy, do you?"

"You don't, either." Catra patted her head, talking in a baby voice. "But you look so  _ cute, _ I couldn't say no."

She blushed a little but held her head high. She laced her fingers under her chin and smiled, exaggeratedly preening. "You’re not too bad yourself.” Oh, she couldn’t help it! She added, “Meow-Meow.”

“Okay, no.” Catra whirled around and went for the door.

“Kidding, I’m kidding!” she said, grabbing her sleeve. “Just give me a minute to clean my stuff up.”

“Why?” As Glimmer pulled her along, Catra obliged, hurriedly kicking her shoes off.

She piled up loose sheets of paper before stuffing them into a binder. “I’ll study in my room so you can take the couch. Oh, unless you wanted to sleep on my bed?”

She thought she heard Catra squeak, but when she looked up from her papers, she was casually leaning against an arm of the couch, propping up the side of her head with a hand. “N-no, that’s fine. I’m tired enough to sleep wherever.”

“Okay,” she said, stacking her laptop on her folders. “Do you want a pillow or anything?”

“...I’m good.”

She regarded Catra, who was slumped a little on the couch. She recognized the same resignation in Catra as the night before in the way she was searching the ground. Glimmer chewed on her lip and stalled at the table a little longer, considering if it was better to address her hesitance or leave her be.

“I don’t care where you study, by the way,” Catra said a little nervously. “Adora’s way more annoying and I’ve slept through all of it before.”

_ Oh. _ Glimmer understood her request for some company. She let out a breath, pretending to be relieved. “Oh, good. I end up sleeping when I try to work on my bed.”

Hey, the best lies come from the truth, right? 

Catra snorted. She laid stomach-down on the couch, hugging a badly tie-dyed pillow. “Too much effort for a fifteen-minute cat nap, anyway.”

“Now you’re just begging me to call you ‘Meow-Meow’.” Moving Bow’s fluffy sweatshirt aside, Glimmer threw the blanket and fixed it over Catra.

She languidly opened an eye to look at Glimmer. “I drool,” she said.

Glimmer fell back onto the bean bag, wishing she was going to sleep, too. “Do your worst. That pillow disappoints me, anyway.”

Catra shook her head, burying her face into the pillow. She pulled her hood up and quietly mumbled something along the lines of a thank-you.

Glimmer smiled at the sight. Just a week ago, they were fighting in front of her mom. Who’d have thought she'd be inviting Catra to crash on the couch now? “Sweet dreams, Meow-Meow.”

More clearly this time, Catra said, “Shut up, Sparkles.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pride month may be over but the gay lives on! thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you all think in the comments! It's awesome to see peoples's takes on the same thing.
> 
> I've never written a romantic fic before, but I fell in love with fake dating AUs after reading artesmiswords's "you did something to me" catradora fic right here on AO3! Hope you guys enjoy VaMB so far!
> 
> BLACK LIVES MATTER.


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